Closure device and packaging comprising such a closure device

Abstract

The invention relates to a closure device (4) for attaching to a packaging container (2). The packaging container (2) can be closed in a childproof and recloseable manner by means of the attached closure device (4). The invention is characterized in that at least 70% of the closure device (4) is made of a material based on paper, and the closure device comprises at least two tabs (4b, 4c, 4d), wherein at least one slot (8a, 8b) is formed in a first tab (4b, 4c, 4d), and a second tab (4b, 4c, 4d) comprises at least one hook element (9a, 9b) with a latching nose (11a, 11b). The hook element (9a, 9b) can be guided from the rear face (15) of the first tab (4b, 4c, 4d) onto a front face (16) of the first tab (4b, 4c, 4d) through the slot (8a, 8b) in order to close the closure device (4), and the latching nose (11a, 11b) is designed such that upon guiding the hook element (9a, 9b) through the slot (8a, 8b), the latching nose comes into contact with an edge-side border of the slot (8a, 8b) on the front face (16) of the first tab (4b, 4c, 4d) such that it is only possible to guide the hook element (9a, 9b) back through the slot (8a, 8b), in order to open the closure device (4), by simultaneously displacing the slot (8a, 8b) relative to the hook element (9a, 9b). The invention additionally relates to a packaging (1) comprising a packaging container (2) with a removal opening (3) and comprising such a closure device (4).

Description

[0001] .Closing device and packaging with such a closing device

[0002] The invention relates to a closure device for attachment to a packaging container, wherein the packaging container can be closed in a child-resistant and resealable manner by means of the attached closure device, as well as to a packaging with such a closure device.

[0003] Legal requirements stipulate that the packaging of certain household chemicals must be equipped with child-resistant closures. This includes, for example, the outer packaging of detergents and cleaning products, especially if they are offered as single-serve packs in the form of pouches, pods, discs, or caps.

[0004] Various types of child-resistant closures are already known for plastic packaging. Opening these closures often requires a combination of multiple movements, such as a simultaneous push and turn movement, or a sequence of several consecutive opening steps. Such complex movement patterns are generally not possible for children in the age groups requiring special protection. At the same time, an adult can usually open such a closure without much difficulty.

[0005] Increased environmental and sustainability awareness is leading to the proportion of plastic in packaging being increasingly reduced and replaced with biodegradable and / or more easily recyclable materials, such as paper-based materials. Consumers consider paper-based materials, in particular, to be more sustainable than plastics, so the highest possible proportion of such materials is desirable. At the same time, packaging made from paper-based materials must also meet child safety requirements. Therefore, various approaches already exist to combine the goals of sustainability and child safety in the area of ​​packaging.

[0006] For example, DE 10 2019 132 879 A1 discloses a bag-shaped paper packaging with a child-resistant closure designed as a zipper. Although the bag of this packaging is preferably made entirely of paper-based material, a disadvantage is that the closure consists entirely or at least largely of plastic. This makes it difficult to dispose of the emptied packaging separately and recycle it. To do this, the closure would first have to be separated from the rest of the packaging. This appears to be in need of improvement. The present invention therefore sets itself the task of providing a sustainably designed closure device for packaging, wherein the closure device meets the requirements for child safety and can, at the same time, be easily opened by an adult.It is a further object of the invention to provide a package equipped with such a closure device.

[0007] These objects are achieved by a closure device having the features of patent claim 1 and by a package having such a closure device having the features of patent claim 10.

[0008] Specific embodiments and further developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0009] According to claim 1, the invention is a closure device for attachment to a packaging container, wherein the packaging container can be closed in a child-resistant and resealable manner by means of the attached closure device.The closure device is characterized in that it is made of at least 70% paper-based material and comprises at least two tabs, wherein at least one slot is formed in a first tab and a second tab comprises at least one hook element with a locking lug, wherein the hook element can be guided from a rear side of the first tab through the slot to a front side of the first tab to close the closure device, and wherein the locking lug is designed such that when the hook element is guided through the slot on the front side of the first tab it comes to rest on an edge-side boundary of the slot such that a return of the hook element through the slot to open the closure device is only possible by a simultaneous displacement of the slot relative to the hook element.

[0010] In other words, the invention provides that for the child-resistant closure of a packaging container, a closure device can be attached to the packaging container which is made of at least 70% of a paper-based material.

[0011] If the packaging container itself is made from a paper-based material, the combination of packaging container and closure device can be easily recycled without the closure device having to be separated from the packaging container beforehand. The closure device according to the invention comprises at least two tabs in which at least one hook element and at least one corresponding slot are formed. The hook element can be guided through the slot to close the closure device, wherein the hook element guided through the slot hooks onto an edge-side boundary of the slot by means of a locking lug formed on the hook element in such a way that guiding the hook element back through the slot to open the closure device is only possible by simultaneous displacement of the slot relative to the hook element.

[0012] Here, too, opening the locking device requires a combination of two movements: a movement to return the hook element and, at the same time, a movement to move the slot relative to the hook element. Therefore, both hands are required to open the locking device in this way. Such a complex movement pattern is generally impossible for small children to perform, but can be accomplished by an adult without major difficulty.

[0013] The at least two tabs can, in principle, be designed independently of one another and can be attached individually to the packaging container. For example, they can be attached to the packaging container by gluing and / or sealing and / or welding. At least one pair consisting of a slot and a corresponding hook element is used to close the closure device.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the invention, the closure device is formed by folding a continuous two-dimensional material blank, wherein the two-dimensional material blank comprises a central section for attachment to the packaging container and the at least two tabs extending from the central section. In this embodiment of the invention, the at least two tabs are thus not formed as independent individual parts, but rather form sections of a continuous material blank. For this purpose, the material blank can have fold lines along which the material section can be folded to form the central section and the individual tabs.When the central section is attached to a packaging container, the individual tabs can be made to overlap by folding them along the fold lines in such a way that the hook elements for closing the closure device and thus the packaging container can be passed through the corresponding slots.

[0015] One embodiment of the invention provides that the two-dimensional material blank comprises three tabs extending from the central section. The central section can be substantially rectangular, and a tab can extend from each of three sides of the rectangular central section. It can be provided that two slots are formed in one tab and a hook element is formed in each of the two further tabs. Alternatively, it can also be provided that two hook elements are formed in one of the tabs and a slot is formed in each of the two further tabs. In both of the above-mentioned embodiments, two pairs of one slot and one hook element are used.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the invention, the at least one slot and the at least one hook element are aligned such that they extend in a vertical direction when the closure device is attached to a packaging container. Accordingly, to open the closure device designed in this way, a displacement of the slot relative to the hook element in a vertical direction is required. According to an alternative embodiment, the at least one slot and the at least one hook element are aligned such that they extend in a horizontal direction when the closure device is attached to a packaging container. With such an embodiment, to open the closure device, a displacement of the slot relative to the hook element in a horizontal direction is required.

[0017] According to the invention, it can be provided that the at least one slit is formed in a tab by punching out, and that the at least one hook element is formed in a further tab by cutting and subsequently folding out the cut-in area from a main plane of the tab. In other words, not only can the slit be formed directly in a tab by punching out, but the hook element can also be formed from the tab material by cutting the corresponding tab, for example, along an approximately semicircular cutting line and the cut-in area is subsequently folded out of the plane of the tab as a hook element. The specific cutting line is selected such that the locking lug is also formed on the hook element.

[0018] The invention can be designed such that the closure device is made of at least 80%, preferably at least 95%, and more preferably 100% paper-based material. In other words, the closure device can be made entirely, or at least to a very large extent, from a paper-based material.

[0019] According to claim 10, the invention also relates to a packaging with a packaging container having a removal opening and a closure device according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the closure device is attached to the packaging container in such a way that the removal opening can be closed in a child-proof manner by closing the closure device.

[0020] The closure device can be attached to the packaging container by gluing, sealing, and / or welding. According to one embodiment, the packaging container can be designed as a stand-up pouch and made of a paper-based material. Alternatively, the packaging container can also be designed, for example, as a cuboid-shaped package made of a paper-based material. The packaging container can be used to hold goods that require child-proof storage, for example, household chemicals such as detergents and cleaning agents, especially detergents and cleaning agents presented in portion packs.

[0021] According to the invention, the entire packaging, comprising a packaging container and a closure device, can be made essentially entirely from a paper-based material and is thus particularly easy and efficient to recycle.

[0022] The invention will be explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment and with reference to the accompanying figures. They show:

[0023] Figure 1: a package with a closure device in the opened state;

[0024] Figure 2: the packaging of Figure 1, with the closure device partially closed;

[0025] Figure 3: the packaging from Figures 1 and 2, the packaging being completely closed;

[0026] Figure 4: a material cut for forming the closure device from the

[0027] Figures 1 to 3;

[0028] Figure 5: an alternative material cut to form a

[0029] locking device.

[0030] Figure 1 shows a package, designated as a whole by 1, which can be used, for example, as outer packaging for portion packs of a detergent or cleaning agent. The package 1 comprises a packaging container 2, which is designed as a stand-up pouch with a dispensing opening 3, and a closure device 4. Both the packaging container 2 and the closure device 4 are made of a paper-based material.

[0031] The closure device 4 is shown separately in Figure 4 and is formed from a continuous, two-dimensional cardboard material blank 5. The closure device 4 comprises a central section 4a and three tabs 4b, 4c, 4d extending from the central section 4a. The central section 4a serves to attach the closure device 4 to the packaging container 2. In the packaging according to Figure 1, the closure device 4 is glued to the rear wall 6 of the packaging container 2 in the region of the central section 4a. Between the tabs 4b, 4c, 4d and the central section 4a of the closure device 4, fold lines 7 are formed along which the material blank 5 can be folded.

[0032] Two slots 8a, 8b are formed in the tab 4b by punching. Hook elements 9a, 9b are formed in each of the two tabs 4c and 4d by cutting the tabs 4c, 4d along an approximately semicircular cutting line 10a or 10b, respectively, and the cut-in areas are subsequently folded out of the plane of the tab 4c, 4d such that the hook elements 9a, 9b lie in a plane essentially perpendicular to the plane of the tabs 4c, 4d. The dashed lines in Figure 4 in the area of ​​the hook elements 9a, 9b are each folding lines along which the hook element 9a, 9b is folded out of the plane of the respective tab 4c, 4d. A locking lug 11a, 11b is formed on each of the two hook elements 9a, 9b.

[0033] To close the packaging 1 from Figure 1, in a first step, the two tabs 4c, 4d, which are already pre-folded along the fold lines 7, are folded over according to the arrows 12a, 12b so that they come to rest on the front wall 13 of the packaging container 2. The two tabs 4c, 4d can be connected, for example, glued, to the front wall 13 of the packaging container 2. This state is shown in Figure 2. The two hook elements 9a, 9b are, as described above, already folded out of the planes of the two tabs 4c, 4d. For the hook element 9a, the opening within the tab 4c created by folding out the hook element 9a is indicated by a dotted line in Figure 2.

[0034] In a subsequent step, the tab 4b is folded downward and over the tabs 4c, 4d according to arrow 14 in Figure 2, so that the hook element 9a can be guided through the slot 8a and the hook element 9b through the slot 8b with minimal effort. In other words, the two hook elements 9a, 9b are guided from a rear side 15 of the tab 4b through the slots 8a, 8b to a front side 16 of the tab 4b. This state is shown in Figure 3.

[0035] The locking lugs 11a, 11b formed on the hook elements 9a, 9b are designed in such a way that, when the hook elements 9a, 9b are guided through the slots 8a, 8b, they come into contact with an edge-side boundary of the slots 8a, 8b on the front side 16 of the tab 4b in such a way that a return of the hook elements 9a, 9b through the slots 8a, 8b to open the closure device 4 is only possible by a simultaneous displacement of the slots 8a, 8b relative to the hook elements 9a, 9b in the direction of the arrow 17 in Figure 3.In other words, the hook elements 9a, 9b with the locking lugs 11a, 11b formed thereon can be guided through the slots 8a, 8b from a rear side 15 to a front side 16 of the tab 4b with comparatively little effort to close the closure device 4. However, the locking lugs 11a, 11b engage therein in such a way that the hook elements 9a, 9b cannot be easily guided back through the slots 8a, 8b. Rather, an additional relative movement between the hook elements 9a, 9b and the slots 8a, 8b is required to release the hook elements 9a, 9b and to guide them back through the slots 8a, 8b to open the closure device 4.The simultaneous execution of a return movement of the hook elements 9a, 9b and a sliding movement of the slots 8a, 8b is generally not possible for small children, so that the removal opening 3 and thus the packaging 1 can be closed in a child-proof manner by the closure device 4.

[0036] The engagement of the hook elements 9a, 9b is not only visually but also acoustically perceptible, so that a user has the certainty that the packaging 1 is properly closed.

[0037] Figure 5 shows an alternative material blank 5 which is also suitable for forming a closure device 4 and is designed essentially similarly to the material blank according to Figure 4. In this case, the closure device 4 also comprises a central section 4a for fastening to a packaging container 2 and three tabs 4b, 4c, 4d extending from the central section 4a. The closure device 4 of Figure 5 differs from the closure device 4 of Figure 4 in that the two hook elements 9a, 9b are formed in the tab 4b, while a slot 8a, 8b is formed in each of the tabs 4c, 4d.

[0038] To close a closure device 4 attached to a packaging container 2 according to Figure 5, first the tab 4b is folded down onto a front wall 13 of the packaging container 2 and then the two tabs 4c, 4d are folded over so that they come to rest on the tab 4b, whereby the hook elements 9a, 9b with the locking lugs 11a, 11b formed thereon pass from a rear side 15 of the tabs 4c, 4d onto a front side 16 of the tabs 4c, 4d through the slots 8a, 8b and lock there in the manner described above. To open the closure device 4, in addition to the return movement of the hook elements 9a, 9b, a sliding movement of the slots 8a, 8b relative to the hook elements 9a, 9b is required so that the locked hook elements 9a, 9b are released again.

[0039] While the displacement movement in the embodiment according to Figures 1 to 4, in which the hook elements 9a, 9b and the slots 8a, 8b extend in a vertical direction, must take place in a vertical direction, it must take place in a horizontal direction in a closure device 4 according to Figure 5, in which the hook elements 9a, 9b and the slots 8a, 8b extend in a horizontal direction.

[0040] In the two embodiments described here, the closure device 4 is each made from a continuous material blank 5. In principle, the tabs 4b, 4c, 4d having the slots 8a, 8b and the hook elements 9a, 9b can also be formed independently of one another and individually attached to a packaging container 2.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Closure device (4) for attachment to a packaging container (2), wherein the packaging container (2) can be closed in a child-resistant and resealable manner by means of the attached closure device (4), characterized in that the closure device (4) is made of at least 70% of a paper-based material and comprises at least two tabs (4b, 4c, 4d), wherein at least one slot (8a, 8b) is formed in a first tab (4b, 4c, 4d) and a second tab (4b, 4c, 4d) comprises at least one hook element (9a, 9b) with a locking lug (11a, 11b), wherein the hook element (9a, 9b) for closing the closure device (4) extends from a rear side (15) of the first tab (4b, 4c, 4d) through the slot (8a, 8b) onto a front side (16) of the first tab (4b, 4c, 4d) and wherein the locking lug (11a, 11b) is designed such that when the hook element (9a,9b) on the front side (16) of the first tab (4b, 4c, 4d) comes to rest against an edge-side boundary of the slot (8a, 8b) in such a way that a return of the hook element (9a, 9b) through the slot (8a, 8b) for opening the closure device (4) is only possible by a simultaneous displacement of the slot (8a, 8b) relative to the hook element (9a, 9b).

2. Closure device (4) according to claim 1, characterized in that the closure device (4) is formed by folding from a continuous two-dimensional material blank (5), wherein the two-dimensional material blank (5) comprises a central portion (4a) for fastening to the packaging container (2) and the at least two tabs (4b, 4c, 4d) which extend from the central portion (4a).

3. Closure device (4) according to claim 2, characterized in that the two-dimensional material blank (5) comprises three tabs (4a, 4b, 4c) extending from the central portion (4a).

4. Closure device (4) according to claim 3, characterized in that two slots (8a, 8b) are formed in one tab (4b) and a hook element (9a, 9b) is formed in each of the two further tabs (4c, 4d).

5. Closure device (4) according to claim 3, characterized in that two hook elements (9a, 9b) are formed in one tab (4b) and a slot (8a, 8b) is formed in each of the two further tabs (4c, 4d).

6. Closure device (4) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the at least one slot (8a, 8b) and the at least one hook element (9a, 9b) are aligned such that they extend in a vertical direction when the closure device (4) is attached to a packaging container (2).

7. Closure device (4) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the at least one slot (8a, 8b) and the at least one hook element (9a, 9b) are aligned such that they extend in a horizontal direction when the closure device (4) is attached to a packaging container (2).

8. Closure device (4) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the at least one slot (8a, 8b) is formed in a tab (4b, 4c, 4d) by punching out and that the at least one hook element (9a, 9b) is formed in a further tab (4b, 4c, 4d) by cutting and subsequently folding out the cut-in area from a main plane of the tab (4b, 4c, 4d).

9. Closure device (4) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the closure device (4) is made of at least 80%, preferably at least 95%, more preferably 100% of a paper-based material.

10. Packaging (1), characterized in that the packaging (1) comprises a packaging container (2) with a removal opening (3) and a closure device (4) according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the closure device (4) is attached to the packaging container (2) in such a way that the removal opening (3) can be closed in a child-proof manner by closing the closure device (4).

11. Packaging (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that the closure device (4) is attached to the packaging container (2) by gluing and / or sealing and / or welding.

12. Packaging (1) according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the packaging container (2) is designed as a stand-up pouch and is made of a paper-based material.

13. Packaging (1) according to one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the packaging (1) is made substantially entirely of a paper-based material.

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