OPENING/CLOSING DEVICE FOR A CONTAINER POURABLE PRODUCTS

Abstract

An opening/closing device for a container for pourable products is disclosed. The device includes a collar combinable with the container at a perforable portion thereof, a moveable cap by a first guiding means, which are interposed between the cap and the collar, on the outer surface of the collar, and a cutting element constrainedly movable by second guiding means, which are interposed between the cutting element and the collar. Inside the collar, the device has pushing means for the cutting element, which are actuated by the cap during its first displacement on the outer surface of the collar, for promoting the displacement inside the collar of the cutting element in the direction of the perforable portion. The cap is also has a through hole for pouring product and a lid adapted to seal, or open, the passage of the through hole.

Claims

1. Opening/closing device for a container for pourable products, having a perforable portion, said opening/closing device comprising a collar combinable with said container at said perforable portion, a cap constrainedly movable by first guiding means, which are interposed between said cap and said collar, on the outer surface of said collar, and a cutting element constrainedly movable by second guiding means (60), which are interposed between said cutting element and said collar, inside said collar for severing said perforable portion, said device further comprising pushing means for said cutting element, which are actuated by said cap during its first displacement on said outer surface of said collar, for promoting the displacement inside said collar of said cutting element in the direction of said perforable portion, wherein said cap is provided with a through hole (32) for pouring said pourable product and with at least one lid integrally constrained to said cap and adapted to seal, or open, the passage of said through hole, said first guiding means only rotatably constraining said cap to said collar, said opening/closing device further comprising means for limiting the rotation of said cap with respect to the outer surface of said collar between a first assembled position for said opening/closing device and a second locked position of said cap on said collar.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said limiting means comprise at least two parts, which can be reciprocally engaged and are respectively integral with said cap and said collar.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein said limiting means comprise a locking tooth which can be engaged in a corresponding seat, at least when said cap is in said second position, said locking tooth protruding inside said cap and said seat being defined on said outer surface of said collar, or vice-versa.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the angular range between said first position and said second position is between 180 and 360°.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein said first guiding means comprise a first protruding radial portion and a second protruding radial portion, wherein said first protruding portion is integral with the outer surface of said collar and said second protruding portion is integral with the inner surface of said cap and adapted to brush against said first protruding portion during the rotation of said cap with respect to said collar, said first protruding portion and/or said second protruding portion being elastically deformable at least when said cap is combined with said collar during the assembly of said opening/closing device.

6. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a retaining ring integrally constrained at the lower end of said cap by a plurality of frangible bridges, said frangible bridges being severed at least when said cap is displaced from said first assembled position.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein said lid is made in one piece with said cap.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein said cap comprises a pouring spout, said through hole being made at the upper final end of said pouring spout.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein said lid is hinged to said cap by a plastic hinge combined with the side surface of said cap.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein said plastic hinge is arranged on said side surface in an angular position so that at least when said cap is in its second locked position, said lid, when open, is on the part of the container opposite the side(s) of the container closest to said collar.

11. A method for the first opening of a container for pourable products provided with an opening/closing device according to claim 1, comprising: a) displacing said cap with respect to said collar; b) causing, during said step a), the displacement of said cutting element in the direction of said perforable portion of said container for severing it; said method further comprising subsequently to said step b), a step c) of raising said lid integral with said cap for pouring the product contained in said container, and step d) limiting the displacement of said cap between a first assembled position for said opening/closing device and a second locked position (P2) of said cap to said collar.

12. The method according to claim 11, said step a) comprises the step a1) of rotating said cap with respect to the outer surface of said collar between said first position and said second position.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein said step (c) comprises the step of turning the lid with respect to the cap.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0020] Some forms of particular realization of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only and not limited to, with reference to the attached figures, in which:

[0021] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the opening/closing device according to the invention still closed and mounted on a container for pourable products;

[0022] FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the opening/closing device according to the invention open and mounted on a container for pourable products;

[0023] FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the opening/closing device according to the invention without a cap;

[0024] FIG. 2B is a longitudinal section view of the device of FIG. 2A, still in its first position and equipped with a cap;

[0025] FIG. 3A is a partial forward view of the device in FIG. 1 after the cap has reached its second position;

[0026] FIG. 3B is a longitudinal cross-section view of the device of FIG. 3A;

[0027] FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1B with the lid open, in its second position;

[0028] FIG. 4B is a longitudinal cross-section view of the device in FIG. 4A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED FORM OF REALIZATION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0029] With particular reference to these figures, it has been indicated with 1 the generic opening/closing device according to the invention.

[0030] The opening/closing device 1 is applied on a 100 container (here not shown completely but known to the skilled person) for pourable products having a perforable portion 101 (see FIG. 3B). Said container 100 is made in a well-known way using a laminated material, obtained by superimposing several layers of paper, or cardboard, aluminum, polyethylene and/or other additional materials, suitably shaped and folded, usually in the shape of a parallelepiped, and having at its top a perforated portion 101, or a portion of the laminate that is free of the layer of paper, or cardboard, and therefore easily perforable by a sharp body to allow the leakage of the liquid contained in the container 100.

[0031] According to the embodiment described here, the opening/closing device 1 comprises a collar 2 that can be associated with container 100 in correspondence with the perforable portion 101, a cap 3 that can be moved on the external surface 2a of collar 2 in a way bound by the first guide means 40 placed between cap 3 and collar 2, and a cutting element 5 that can be moved on the internal surface 2b of collar 2 in a way bound by the second guide means 60 placed between cutting element 5 and collar 2 to cut off the perforable portion 101. The second guiding means 60 are of the screw 61 type and the nut 62 type, in which the screw 61 is attached to the cutting element 5 and the nut 62 is attached to the collar 2. It should be noted that the opening/closing device 1 is made of plastic material such as, for example, polypropylene. Other plastic materials can be used for the realization of the device 1 without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0032] Collar 2 also includes a flange 30 that surrounds the entire perforable portion 101 of the container 100 and that, from its lower side 30a, is associated with the 100 container for gluing.

[0033] The annular-shaped cutting element 5 has at its end 5a a plurality of teeth 5b to facilitate the breakage of the perforable portion 101.

[0034] The opening/closing device 1 also includes pushing means 7 for cutting member 5 actuated by cap 3, during at least its first movement on the outer surface 2a of collar 2, to promote the movement inside the collar 2 of cutting member 5 in the direction of the perforable portion 101.

[0035] These pushing means 7 are made of in one piece with cap 3. In particular, according to the invention, while cap 3 moves on the collar 2, the cutting element 5 is forced by means of the pushing means 7 to move in the direction of the perforable portion 101 to cut it at least partially.

[0036] Advantageously, cap 3 is equipped with a through-hole 32 for pouring the pourable product and a lid 10 attached firmly to cap 3 and able to close tightly, or open the through-hole passage 32 to, respectively, store or pour the product contained in container 101.

[0037] In practice, therefore, without the need to remove the cap 3 from the collar 2, the user, once the cutting element 5 has perforated the perforable portion 101, can lift the lid 10 and pour the liquid product contained in the container 100.

[0038] It should be noted that the pushing means 7 include two wings 71 (in the attached figures it is represented only one wing for reasons of simplicity) that assume a partially cylindrical shape that project axially from the upper surface 3a of the cap 3 inside the same. In addition, the pushing means 7 include appropriate engaging elements (not shown here but known to the skilled person) for the two fins 71 attached to the cutting element 5. When cap 3 is placed on the collar 3 at least one fin 71 of the two fins comes into contact with a commitment element, thus subjecting the cutting element 5 to a torque. This torque causes the cutting element 5 to be rotated over the inner surface 2b of collar 2 and the perforation of the perforable portion 101 to occur.

[0039] It should be noted that in other embodiments not shown here the number of wings 71 is different from that indicated in the form of realization described here, also the second guiding means 7 could be different such as, for example, including cam elements that interact with appropriate guides that allow the cutting element 5 to move along a trajectory that is not only helical, but partly helical and partly straight.

[0040] According to the embodiment described here, the first guiding means 40 only rotate the cap 3 to the outer surface 2a of the collar 2.

[0041] This solution allows, therefore, to avoid having to remove the cap 3 completely from the collar 2, but it allows to use the lid 10 also with cap 3 still associated with the collar 2 both to store the product to be poured into the container 100 and to pour the product outside the container 100, simply by lifting the lid 10. In addition, device 1 also includes means 11 to limit the rotation of cap 3 with respect to the outer surface 2a of collar 2 between a first assembly position P1 for opening/closing device 1 and a second position P2 for locking the cap to collar 2. In practice, therefore, cap 3 rotates for a given angular interval, starting from a first P1 position, which is the initial assembly position of device 1 at the exit of the production plant, until it reaches a second locking position to the collar 2.

[0042] The angular range between the first position P1 and the second position P2 is comprised between 180 and 360°. In the form described here, the rotation interval is 355°.

[0043] This has the advantage that the cutting element 5, which will therefore rotate at an angle equal to that of rotation of cap 3, will not be able to fully perforate the perforable portion 101, thus causing it to fall into the container 100. Furthermore, such a solution allows the lid 10 to open in such a position that the product contained in the container 100 is easily poured into the collar 2 at the second locking position P2 of the cap 3. Moreover, the user does not have to worry about keeping the cap 3 in a precise angular position to allow it to be poured as it is locked in a fixed position with respect to the collar 2.

[0044] As shown in the attached figures, the first guide vehicles 40 comprise a first protruding radial portion 41 and a second protruding radial portion 42, in which the first protruding portion 41 is attached to the outer surface 2a of collar 2 and the second protruding portion 42 is attached to the inner lateral surface 3b of cap 3 and is suitable for sliding on the first protruding portion 41 during the rotation of cap 3 with respect to collar 2. The first protruding portion 41 is also slightly elastically deformable at least when cap 3 is associated with collar 2 during the assembly of the opening/closing device 1, thus allowing the association of cap 3 with collar 2. These guide means 40 also prevent cap 3 from being axially removed from collar 2 once it has been assembled with collar 2 itself.

[0045] In addition, the opening/closing device 1 includes a safety ring 80 which is firmly attached to the lower end 3d of cap 3 by means of a number of breakable bridges 81. Breakable bridges 81 are broken when the user turns cap 3 for the first time with respect to collar 2, thus moving from its first position P1. The breakage of these bridges 81 is obtained, in a known way, thanks to appropriate 90 fracturing elements attached to the collar 2.

[0046] The limitating means 11 comprise at least two mutually binding parts 12 and 13, respectively attached to cap 3 and collar 2.

[0047] In particular, the limiting means 11 include a locking tooth 12 that can be engaged within a corresponding seat 13. The locking tooth 12 is protruding inside the cap 3 and the seat 13 is defined on the external surface 2a of the collar 2. The seat 13, however, is made by a pair of protruding elements 13a, 13b suitably spaced to leave space between them to accommodate the tooth 12 at the end of the rotation of the cap 3 from its first position P1 to its second locking position P2. The protrusion 13a of the seat 13 that first comes into contact with the tooth 12 is in the form of a ramp to facilitate the entry of the tooth 13 within the space obtained between the two protruding elements 13a, 13b and so lock in position P2 the cap 3.

[0048] In other embodiments not shown here, the locking tooth 12 is protruding from the outside of the collar 2, while the seat 13 is defined on the inner lateral surface 3b of the cap 3, without leaving the scope of protection of this invention.

[0049] In addition, in the form described here, tooth 12 and seat 13 are dimensioned in such a way that they do not interfere during the axial sliding of cap 3 with collar 2, during the assembly of device 1, and can only be engaged with each other during the reciprocal rotation between cap 3 and collar 2. As shown in the attached figures, the lid 10 is made in one piece with cap 3. Cap 3 has a pouring nozzle 31 that juts out from the top surface 3a of cap 3 itself. The through-hole 32 is made on the upper surface of the pouring nozzle 31. The diameter of the nozzle is smaller than the diameter of the upper surface 3a of cap 3, so that it is referred to as a kind of stepped surface 33 on cap 3. Lid 10 is hinged to cap 3 by a plastic hinge 35 associated with the outer lateral surface 3c of cap 3. In particular, the plastic hinge 35 is located right at the above-mentioned step 33.

[0050] The pushing means 7 are arranged around the lower end section 31a of the nozzle 31 and protrude axially from the upper surface 3a of the cap 3 into it. Moreover, cap 10 is equipped, on its inner side 10a, the one facing container 100 when closed, with U-shaped sealing elements 18 able to associate in a sealed fashion with the upper end section 31b of the pouring nozzle 31. The nozzle 31 is therefore delimited, at the top, by the upper terminal section 31b and, at the bottom, by the lower terminal section 31a.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 4B, the plastic hinge 35 is placed on the outer lateral surface 3c of cap 3 in such an angular position that at least when cap 3 is in its second locking position P2 the lid 10, when opened, is on the side of the container 100 opposite to the sides 102, 103 of the container 100 closest to the collar 3 (see also FIG. 1B). In this way it is possible to easily pour the liquid contained in the container 100, in fact the lid 10, when opened, does not hinder the pouring of the product contained in the container 100 being, the collar 2, in a position close to the sides of the faces 103 and 102 and the lid 10 in a position approximately opposite to the sides of the two faces 103 and 102. If, on the other hand, the lid 10 is located, once opened and the collar 3 has reached its second position P2, near the sides of the two faces 102 and 103, it would be difficult for the user to be able to pour the product contained in the container 100 especially at the beginning, when the container 100 is full. In fact, the same lid 10 would hinder the pouring of the product from the side or sides closest to collar 2 (in the example shown by the sides where the faces 103 and 102 closest to collar 2 are located).

[0052] Finally, the method for the first opening of a 100 container for pourable products equipped with an opening/closing device 1 of the type described above includes the phases of:

[0053] a) turning cap 3 relative to collar 2;

[0054] b) causing, during step (a), the shear element 5 to move in the direction of the perforable portion 101 of container 100 to cut it off;

[0055] and, finally, c) lifting the lid 10 attached to the cap 3 to pour the product contained in the container 100.

[0056] According to the invention, the method also includes step d) to limit the rotation of cap 3 between the first assembly position P1 for opening/closing device 1 and a second locking position P2 of cap 3 to collar 2.

[0057] In particular, the displacement of the cutting element 5 in the direction of the perforable portion 101 of the container 100 is a roto-translation caused by the second guiding means 60 by means of screw 61 and screw nut 62 integral

[0058] with, respectively, to the cutting element 5 and to the collar 2.

[0059] Step c) includes the step of rotating the lid 10 with respect to cap 3.

[0060] Finally, it should be noted that the first rotation of the cap 3 also causes the breakage of the safety tab 80.