Dispensing closure for a fluid container

Abstract

The present invention relates to a dispensing closure for a fluid container with a spout for dispensing a fluid, said dispensing closure comprising a peripheral wall, a transverse wall and a toggle member, wherein said peripheral wall and said transverse wall are made of an elastic material. The dispensing closure also comprises a valve element.

Claims

1. A dispensing closure (100) for a container (10) with a spout (20) for dispensing a fluid, said dispensing closure comprising: a peripheral wall (200) adapted to at least partly fit within the spout and to seal against the spout, when the closure (100) is in its closed position, a transverse wall (300) extending inside of the peripheral wall (200), and a toggle member (400) extending from the transverse wall (300) to be manipulated by a user, wherein said peripheral wall (200) and said transverse wall (300) are made of an elastic material, and wherein said closure (100) is arranged and adapted such that a) the closure (100) is in its closed position when no force is exerted by a user onto said toggle member (400), and b) at least part of the transverse wall (300) and at least part of the peripheral wall (200) are distorted when a force is exerted onto said toggle member (400) by a user such that the seal between the peripheral wall (200) and the spout of the container (10) is at least partly opened to bring the closure (100) in its opened position and to permit dispensing of the fluid out of the container (10), wherein said dispensing closure (100) further comprises a valve element (500), said valve element (500) being provided in said transverse wall (300) and being arranged such that it is closed when said closure (100) is in its closed position and such that it is at least partly open when said closure (100) is in its opened position to permit flow of air into said container (100), wherein an external portion (220) of said peripheral wall (200) comprises a dispensing opening (260), and said dispensing opening (260) is configured to permit dispensing of the fluid out of the container (10) when said toggle member (400) is moved away from said dispensing opening (260).

2. The dispensing closure according to claim 1, wherein said internal portion (240) of said peripheral wall (200) comprises a sealing element (245) adapted to seal against an internal part of said spout (20) of said container (10), wherein said sealing element (245) is adapted such that it seals against the spout (20) of the container (10) when said dispensing closure (100) is in its closed position and such that the seal is at least partly opened when said closure is in its opened position, wherein the seal is opened in the vicinity of said dispensing opening (260) of said external portion (220) of the peripheral wall (200).

3. A dispensing closure (100) for a container (10) with a spout (20) for dispensing a fluid, said dispensing closure comprising: a peripheral wall (200) adapted to at least partly fit within the spout and to seal against the spout, when the closure (100) is in its closed position, a transverse wall (300) extending inside of the peripheral wall (200), and a toggle member (400) extending from the transverse wall (300) to be manipulated by a user, wherein said peripheral wall (200) and said transverse wall (300) are made of an elastic material, and wherein said closure (100) is arranged and adapted such that a) the closure (100) is in its closed position when no force is exerted by a user onto said toggle member (400), and b) at least part of the transverse wall (300) and at least part of the peripheral wall (200) are distorted when a force is exerted onto said toggle member (400) by a user such that the seal between the peripheral wall (200) and the spout of the container (10) is at least partly opened to bring the closure (100) in its opened position and to permit dispensing of the fluid out of the container (10), wherein said dispensing closure (100) further comprises a valve element (500), said valve element (500) being provided in said transverse wall (300) and being arranged such that it is closed when said closure (100) is in its closed position and such that it is at least partly open when said closure (100) is in its opened position to permit flow of air into said container (100), wherein said valve element (500) comprises at least one opening (520) through said transverse wall (300) and a closing element (560), said closing element (560) being adapted to close the opening (520) when said valve element (500) is in its closed position and being adapted to open at least one opening at least partly when said valve element (500) is in its opened position to permit flow of air into said container, and wherein said closing element (560) is made of a rigid material.

4. The dispensing closure according to claim 3 wherein said closing element (560) comprises a sealing surface (566) and a post (562), said post (502) extending from said sealing surface (566), said post (562) being inserted into an opening (568) of said transverse wall (300) of said dispensing closure and being attached to said transverse wall (300).

5. A dispensing closure (100) for a container (10) with a spout (20) for dispensing a fluid, said dispensing closure comprising: a peripheral wall (200) adapted to at least partly fit within the spout and to seal against the spout, when the closure (100) is in its closed position, a transverse wall (300) extending inside of the peripheral wall (200), and a toggle member (400) extending from the transverse wall (300) to be manipulated by a user, wherein said peripheral wall (200) and said transverse wall (300) are made of an elastic material, and wherein said closure (100) is arranged and adapted such that a) the closure (100) is in its closed position when no force is exerted by a user onto said toggle member (400), and b) at least part of the transverse wall (300) and at least part of the peripheral wall (200) are distorted when a force is exerted onto said toggle member (400) by a user such that the seal between the peripheral wall (200) and the spout of the container (10) is at least partly opened to bring the closure (100) in its opened position and to permit dispensing of the fluid out of the container (10), wherein said dispensing closure (100) further comprises a valve element (500), said valve element (500) being provided in said transverse wall (300) and being arranged such that it is closed when said closure (100) is in its closed position and such that it is at least partly open when said closure (100) is in its opened position to permit flow of air into said container (100), wherein said valve element (500) comprises at least one opening (520) through said transverse wall (300) and a closing element (560), said closing element (560) being adapted to close the opening (520) when said valve element (500) is in its closed position and being adapted to open at least one opening at least partly when said valve element (500) is in its opened position to permit flow of air into said container, and wherein said valve element (500) comprises a sealing wall (540) extending from said transverse wall (300) of said dispensing closure (100) adapted to seal against a sealing surface (566) of the closing element (560) when said valve (500) is in its closed position.

6. Dispensing closure according to claim 5, wherein said sealing wall (540) is flexible and is made of the same material as the transverse wall (300).

7. A dispensing closure (100) for a container (10) with a spout (20) for dispensing a fluid, said dispensing closure comprising: a peripheral wall (200) adapted to at least partly fit within the spout and to seal against the spout, when the closure (100) is in its closed position, a transverse wall (300) extending inside of the peripheral wall (200), and a toggle member (400) extending from the transverse wall (300) to be manipulated by a user, wherein said peripheral wall (200) and said transverse wall (300) are made of an elastic material, and wherein said closure (100) is arranged and adapted such that a) the closure (100) is in its closed position when no force is exerted by a user onto said toggle member (400), and b) at least part of the transverse wall (300) and at least part of the peripheral wall (200) are distorted when a force is exerted onto said toggle member (400) by a user such that the seal between the peripheral wall (200) and the spout of the container (10) is at least partly opened to bring the closure (100) in its opened position and to permit dispensing of the fluid out of the container (10), wherein said dispensing closure (100) further comprises a valve element (500), said valve element (500) being provided in said transverse wall (300) and being arranged such that it is closed when said closure (100) is in its closed position and such that it is at least partly open when said closure (100) is in its opened position to permit flow of air into said container (100), wherein said transverse wall (300) comprises an actuating element (600), extending from an upper or outer side of said transverse wall (300) and being arranged such that it exerts a force onto said valve element (500), when said toggle (400) is manipulated by the user to bring the dispensing closure into its opened position.

8. The dispensing closure according to claim 7, wherein said valve element (500) comprises at least one opening (520) through said transverse wall (300) and a closing element (560), said closing element (560) comprises a sealing surface (566) and a post (562), wherein said actuating element (600) is arranged such that it exerts a pressure onto said post (562) of said closing element (560) when said toggle (400) is manipulated by the user to bring the dispensing closure into its opened position.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further advantages of a dispensing closure and of a system according to the present invention will become even more apparent in view of the preferred embodiment shown in the following figures:

(2) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an inventive dispensing closure being attached to a container;

(3) FIG. 2 shows another perspective view of the dispensing closure in some more detail with parts of the container omitted;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a cross section through the dispensing closure and part of a spout of the container, with the dispensing closure being in its closed position;

(5) FIG. 4 shows the same view as FIG. 3, however, with the dispensing closure being moved out of its closed position into the direction of its opened position;

(6) FIG. 5 shows the same view as FIG. 3, however, with the dispensing closure in its opened position;

(7) FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of a dispensing closure according to the present invention with parts of a container to which it is attached;

(8) FIG. 7 shows the embodiment of the dispensing closure as shown in FIG. 6, with a cap and a temper evident element being removed;

(9) FIG. 8 shows a cross section of the embodiment of the dispensing closure as shown in FIG. 6; and

(10) FIG. 9 shows a cross section of the embodiment of a dispensing closure as shown in FIG. 7, with the cap and the temper evident element being removed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(11) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a dispensing closure 100 being mounted on a container 10. The dispensing closure 100 comprises a peripheral wall 200, a transverse wall 300, a toggle member 400 and a valve element 500, details of which will become more apparent in the following figures.

(12) The container 10 is shown as lying essentially in a horizontal direction, in which the container is also used, so that by manipulating the toggle member 400 by a user, thereby bringing the dispensing closure 100 into its opened position, fluid will be dispensed through a dispensing opening (see FIG. 2) due to the gravity influencing the fluid in the container 10.

(13) FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the dispensing closure 100 as shown in FIG. 1 from a different perspective, while parts of the container 10 have been omitted. FIG. 2 also shows the peripheral wall 200, the transverse wall 300, the toggle member 400 and the valve element 500 as well as a dispensing opening 260 being formed into the peripheral wall 200, through which liquid can be dispensed out of the container when the dispensing closure 100 is in its opened position.

(14) FIG. 3 shows a cross section through the dispensing closure 100 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with parts of the container 10, more exactly with parts of the spout 20 of the container 10.

(15) As can be well seen in FIG. 3, the dispensing closure 100 comprises a peripheral wall with an external portion 220 or an external wall and an internal portion 240 or internal wall, which together form a receiving space 230 in between for accommodating the spout 20 or parts of the spout 20 of the container, when said dispensing closure is attached to said container as shown in FIG. 3.

(16) As can be also well seen in FIG. 3, the spout 20 of the container comprises an outer thread 22, which, however, is not used in this specific embodiment, as the dispensing closure 100 is not screwed onto the spout but pushed onto the spout 20.

(17) As can be also well seen in FIG. 3, the spout 20 comprises an outer notch 24, whereas the external portion 220 of the peripheral wall 200 comprises an inner notch 227, whereas these notches 24 and 227 do engage with each other when the dispensing closure 100 is pushed onto the spout 20, so that the dispensing closure 100 is attached to and fixed to the spout 20 and thereby to the container.

(18) The notch 227 can also serve as an additional sealing element.

(19) Furthermore, the outer portion 220 of the peripheral wall 200 comprises a sealing element 225, sealing against an upper part of the spout 20, so that no liquid can enter into the receiving space 230 or leak out of the closure.

(20) Also the inner portion 240 of the peripheral wall 200 comprises a sealing element 245, which seals against an inner portion or inner side wall of the spout 20.

(21) This sealing element 245 is essentially ring-like and seals against the inner part or inner side wall of the spout 20 over its complete circumference, when said dispensing closure 100 is in its closed position as shown in FIG. 3. No liquid can therefore be dispensed in this closed position of the dispensing closure 100.

(22) The dispensing closure 100 also comprises a valve element 500, which comprises multiple openings 520 in the transverse wall 300 and which comprises a closing element 560 with a post 562 and a sealing surface 566. As can be well seen in FIG. 3, the post 562 is inserted through an opening 568 in the transverse wall 300, while a head portion 564, having a larger diameter than the rest of the post 562, secures the closing element 560 to the transverse wall 300.

(23) The valve element 500 also comprises a sealing wall 540, which has an essentially cylindrical form, extending from said transverse wall 300 of said dispensing closure 100. The sealing wall 540 is, over its complete circumference, in contact with the sealing surface 566 of the closing element 560, so that the valve element 500 is, in the position shown in FIG. 3, closed and sealed, so that also no air can enter from the outside into the container.

(24) FIG. 4 shows the dispensing closure 100 as shown in FIG. 3, however in a position in which a user manipulates the toggle member 400, pushing the toggle member 400 partly into the direction of the container or spout, in FIG. 4 downwards, in order to move the dispensing closure into its opened position.

(25) As can be well seen, both the transverse wall 300 as well as parts of the peripheral wall 200 are distorted, such that the sealing member 245 moves away from the inner part or inner side wall of the spout 20, so that liquid can be dispensed as indicated by the arrow A.

(26) As can be also well seen in FIG. 4, the transverse wall is partly distorted, however, the valve element 500 is still in its closed position, with the sealing wall 540 still being in contact with the sealing surface 566 of the closing element 560, so that still no air can enter into the container via the valve element 500.

(27) FIG. 5 shows the dispensing closure as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, however, with the dispensing closure in its fully opened position, by the manipulation of the user.

(28) As can be well seen in FIG. 5, liquid can be dispensed out of the container as indicated by arrow A through the dispensing opening 260, while, in comparison to the position in FIG. 4, more liquid can be dispensed as the sealing element 245 is moved further away from the inner wall of the spout 20.

(29) Furthermore, due to the further distortion of the transverse wall 300, also controlled and supported by the actuating element 600, the valve element 500 is in its opened position, with the sealing wall 540 at least partly not being in contact anymore with the sealing surface 566 of the closing element 560, so that air can enter into the container through the openings 520 and between the sealing wall 540 and the sealing surface 566.

(30) Thereby the volume of the container (not shown) which is not occupied anymore by the liquid as being dispensed, can be filled with air from the atmosphere, so that continuously a dispensing of fluid can be performed in a controlled way, especially a constant and preferably laminar dispensing can be secured.

(31) FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of a dispensing closure according to the present invention, which is very similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, so that it is referred to the above-mentioned description, in order to avoid repetitions, while the same or similar elements are also indicated with the same reference numerals.

(32) FIG. 6 shows a dispensing closure with a fastening element 800, being made of a rigid material, here polypropylene or polyethylene, being attached to a lower part of the peripheral wall of the dispensing closure for securing the dispensing closure to the spout of the container. Furthermore, the dispensing closure comprises a cap 840 being attached to said fastening element 800 by a removable temper evident element 820, which is essentially ring-like in this embodiment. The temper evident element 820 has a grip portion 822, which can be grabbed by a user to remove the removable temper evident element 820, thereby enabling a removement of the cap 800, as will be shown in FIG. 7.

(33) FIG. 7 shows the embodiment of the dispensing closure as shown in FIG. 6, however with the temper evident element 820 being opened and the cap 840 being removed.

(34) As can be well seen in FIG. 7, the temper element 820 is completely detached from the fastening element 800 and, as shown in FIG. 7, still partly attached to the cap 840. The fastening element 800 remains in its original position, its functioning will be better explained in connection with the description of FIG. 8, see hereinafter.

(35) It has to be noted that in this specific embodiment the temper evident element 820 and the cap 840 are adapted such that the temper evident element 820 remains partly fixed to the cap 840, however, in other embodiments, it is also possible to completely remove the temper evident element 820 also from the cap 840.

(36) FIG. 8 shows the embodiment of the dispensing closure as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, with the cap 840 and the temper evident element 820 still being attached to the fastening element 800, as shown in FIG. 6.

(37) As can be well seen, the fastening element 800, being made of a rigid material, secures the external portion 220 of the peripheral wall in its position, so that especially the notches 24 and 227 are still engaged with each other.

(38) Furthermore, the fastening element 800 comprises a notch 820, being an engagement with a lower part of the external portion 220 of the peripheral wall 200, securing the position of the fastening element 800 relative to the external portion 220 of the peripheral wall 200.

(39) This is of specific importance for closures with a peripheral wall being made of an elastic and/or flexible material, as it is the case in this embodiment, as this material is important for the functioning of the dispensing closure, however, the flexibility of the material also bares a risk that the dispensing closure can be more easily removed from the spout 20 of the container.

(40) The fastening element 800, however, is made of a more rigid material and therefore increases the force being necessary to detach the dispensing closure 100 from the neck 20 of the container. Preferably the fastening ring 800 is arranged such that the fastening ring 800 and the dispensing closure 100 cannot be removed from the neck 20 of the container without destroying or partly destroying the fastening ring 800.

(41) As can be also well seen in FIG. 8, the fastening ring 800, the temper evident element 820 and the cap 840 cover the dispensing closure 100 essentially completely to the outside, so that the dispensing closure 100 is protected from dust or dirt and also protected from any damages during transport etc.

(42) As can be also well seen in FIG. 8, the cap 840 comprises an inner, ring-like seal portion 842, which seals the cap 840 to the dispensing closure 100, in this embodiment to the external portion 220 of the peripheral wall 200. This ring-like sealing portion 842 also leads to a certain friction between the cap 840 and the external portion 220 of the peripheral wall 200, which leads to the effect that the cap 840 can be, after first removal, also be placed again onto the dispensing closure for covering and protection, such that a certain force is necessary to remove the cap 840 again, also avoiding that the cap 840 just falls off unintentionally from the dispensing closure 100.

(43) FIG. 9 shows a cross section of the dispensing closure as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, with the cap and the temper evident element being removed as shown in FIG. 7.

(44) As can be well seen in FIG. 9, the fastening element 800 remains in its position and secures an exact positioning and attachment of the dispensing closure 100 on the spout 20 of the container, even if, as in this embodiment, the dispensing closure and especially the peripheral wall and the external portion 220 of the peripheral wall are made of a flexible, elastic material.

(45) With respect to the functioning of the dispensing closure 100, it is especially referred to FIGS. 3 to 5 and the description thereof, as the embodiment of the dispensing closure shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 is identical in this respect.

(46) In order to avoid repetition, it is otherwise referred to the description of the earlier described embodiment.

(47) The features of the present invention disclosed in the specification, the claims and/or in the accompanying drawings may, both separately and in any combination thereof, be material for realizing the invention in various forms thereof.