CONTAINER CLOSURE

Abstract

The invention relates to a container closure for closing a container opening of a container having a casing, a cover disc which abuts the upper end of the casing, a dispensing opening which is provided on the cover disc, a first sealing element which is formed on the inner side of the cover disc and is provided to project sealingly into the container opening, and a cap which closes or opens the dispensing opening. On the casing, at least one latch opening is provided which can interact with a latch element of the container.

Claims

1. A container closure for closing a container opening of a container, comprising: a casing, a cover disc which abuts the upper end of the casing, a dispensing opening which that is provided in the cover disc, a first sealing element which that is formed on the inner side of the cover disc and is provided to project sealingly into the container opening, and a cap that closes or opens the dispensing opening, the casing defining at least one latch opening configured to interact with a latch element of the container.

2. The container closure according to claim 1, wherein the at least one latch opening comprises two latch openings diametrically opposite to one another in the casing.

3. The container closure according to claim 2, wherein the casing has an elliptical cross section, wherein the two latch openings are provided on a main axis or a secondary axis of the elliptical cross section.

4. The container closure according to claim 1, wherein the at least one latch opening has a first latching edge that is oriented parallel to an open end of the casing and has a shortest distance from the open end of the casing compared to other edges of the latch opening.

5. The container closure according to claim 4, wherein a distance between the first latching edge and the open end of the casing is between 2 and 6 mm or between 2 and 3 mm.

6. The container closure according to claim 1, wherein the at least one latch opening has a rectangular shape.

7. The container closure according to claim 1, wherein the cap is a hinged cap which is articulated to the casing.

8. The container closure according to claim 1, wherein the cap is a screw cap that has an internal thread and is configured to be screwed onto a collar with an external thread upwardly extending on the cover disc.

9. The container closure according to claim 1, further comprising a second sealing element formed on an inside of the cap and that projects into the dispensing opening when the cap is placed on the cover disc.

10. The container closure according to claim 1, wherein the closure has a truncated cone shape.

11. The container closure according to claim 1, wherein the container closure is free of an inner casing that is formed between the casing and the first sealing element.

12. A container, in particular a blow-molded plastic container, configured to receive a container closure, the container closure comprising: a casing, a cover disc which abuts the upper end of the casing, a dispensing opening that is provided in the cover disc, a first sealing element that is formed on the inner side of the cover disc and is provided to project sealingly into the container opening, and a cap that closes or opens the dispensing opening, the casing defining at least one latch opening configured to interact with a latch element of the container, and the container comprising: a container opening, a container body, a container neck that surrounds and thereby defines the container opening, and a container shoulder that connects the neck to the container body, and at least one latch element on the container shoulder or the container neck configured to be latched in the latch opening of the container closure.

13. The container according to claim 12, wherein the container is extrusion-blow-molded when the at least one latch element is formed on the container shoulder.

14. The container according to claim 12, wherein the container is stretch-blow-molded when the at least one latch element is formed on the container neck.

15. The container according to claim 14, further comprising a support ring on the container neck, on which support ring the at least one latch element projects.

16. The container according to claim 12, wherein the container shoulder has a flat shape lying in a horizontal direction or a hanging shape as a truncated cone.

17. The container according to claim 12, further comprising a ledge, on which the open end of the casing can rest, is formed at a transition from the container shoulder to the container body.

18. The container according to claim 12, further comprising two latch elements formed diametrically opposite one another on the container shoulder or the container neck.

19. The container according to claim 18, wherein the container shoulder has the shape of an ellipse in cross-section.

20. The container according to claim 19, wherein the shoulder having a flat shape lying in the horizontal direction has an elliptical shape.

21. The container according to claim 17, wherein the ledge has an elliptical shape.

22. The container according to claim 19, wherein the two latch elements are formed on a main axis or a secondary axis of the ellipse.

23. The container according to any of claim 12, wherein the latch element has a second latching edge configured to interact with a first latching edge of the latch opening.

24. The container according to claim 12, wherein the latch element is a step-shaped elevation-on the container shoulder, wherein a front surface of the elevation is oriented obliquely in a direction of the container neck.

25. A closure system comprising: a container closure, comprising: a casing, a cover disc which abuts the upper end of the casing, a dispensing opening that is provided in the cover disc, a first sealing element that is formed on the inner side of the cover disc and is provided to project sealingly into the container opening, and a cap that closes or opens the dispensing opening, the casing defining at least one latch opening configured to interact with a latch element of the container, and a container comprising: a container opening, a container body, a container neck that surrounds and thereby defines the container opening, and a container shoulder that connects the neck to the container body, and at least one latch element on the container shoulder or the container neck configured to be latched in the latch opening of the container closure, wherein the container closure latches with the container while being pressed thereon, and wherein a front surface of the at least one latch element, which penetrates the latch opening, is flush with an outer face of the casing.

26. The closure system according to claim 25, wherein an outer surface of the casing is flush with an outer surface of the container body.

Description

[0041] Further advantages and features will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment of the invention with reference to the schematic drawings. In the drawings, not true to scale:

[0042] FIG. 1: shows a first perspective view of a container closure and a container onto which the closure can be placed in a first embodiment;

[0043] FIG. 2: shows a second perspective view of the closure and the container of FIG. 1;

[0044] FIG. 3: shows a perspective bottom view of the container;

[0045] FIG. 4: shows a perspective view of the closure placed on the container;

[0046] FIG. 5: shows a perspective full view of the container;

[0047] FIG. 6: shows a bottom view of a detail of a container closure according to the prior art with an inner casing;

[0048] FIG. 7: shows a perspective view of the container in a second embodiment;

[0049] FIG. 8: shows the container from FIG. 7 with a mounted container closure in a view obliquely from above;

[0050] FIG. 9: shows the container from FIG. 7 with the mounted container closure in a view obliquely from below, and

[0051] FIG. 10: shows a cross-section through the container with the mounted and latched container closure along a vertical sectional plane.

[0052] FIGS. 1 to 4 and 8 to 10 show a container closure which is denoted as a whole with the reference sign 11. The closure 11 closes the container opening 13 of a container 15a according to a first embodiment (FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5) or a container 15b according to a second embodiment (FIGS. 7 to 10). The container opening 13 serves for filling the container 15a, 15b with filling material before the container 15a, 15b is closed by the closure 11.

[0053] The container closure 11 has a casing 17 which has the shape of a truncated cone. A cover disc 19 adjoins the upper end of the casing 17 and covers the top of the casing. In the cover disc 19, a dispensing opening 21 is provided through which filling material in the container 15a, 15b can be removed.

[0054] A sealing element 23 rises from the inner side of the cover disc 19. The sealing element 23 projects sealingly into the container opening 13 when the closure 11 is placed on the container 15a, 15b. In this case, the seal is a so-called cone sealer, i.e., the sealing element 23 widens continuously in the direction of the cover disc 19 in the manner of a truncated cone. As a result, the container opening 13 is sealed by the sealing element 23.

[0055] A cap 25 is articulated to the casing 17 via a hinge 27, in the form of a film hinge. In this case, the cap is a hinged cap 25 which can be folded from a closed position into an open position. In the closed position, a second sealing element 29 projects into the dispensing opening 21 sealed tight against filling material.

[0056] A first and second latch opening 31a, 31b or a first and second window are removed from the casing 17. The container closure 11 has a cross-sectional shape of an ellipse with a main axis 33a and a secondary axis 33b. As the figures show, the latch openings 31a, 31b can be provided diametrically opposite on the main axis 33a. The hinge 27 can be formed on the secondary axis 33b of the casing 17.

[0057] The closure is injection-molded, and the latch openings can be realized by scraping or forced demolding in the injection mold.

[0058] For the reliable latching function of the latch elements 31a, 31b, it is essential that they have a first latching edge 35a, 35b. The first latching edge 35 lies deeper than all other edges of the latch opening 31, i.e., the first latching edge 35 has the shortest distance from the open end 37 of the casing 17. The first latching edge 35 is parallel to the open end 37 of the casing, as a result of which the first latching edge 35 is oriented perpendicular to the pull-off direction of the closure 11 and is therefore fixedly held on the container. The latch opening 31 can have the shape of a rectangle, wherein the first latching edge 35 is a longitudinal side of the rectangle.

[0059] By providing the latch opening 31 on the casing 17, another inner casing 53 (FIG. 6) can be dispensed with, which according to the prior art projects from the cover disc 19 between the first sealing element 23 and the casing 17. As a result, the closure can be realized with little material and accordingly at low cost. The closure 11 according to the invention requires 33% less plastic material than a closure of the prior art.

[0060] The container shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5 in a first embodiment has a container body 39. A container shoulder 41, which merges into a cylindrical container neck 43, adjoins the body 39. The container neck 43 surrounds the container opening 13. An oval or elliptical ledge 44 is formed at the transition from the container shoulder 41 to the container body 39. The casing 17 can rest on this ledge 44 by its open end 37. The outer contour of the ledge 44 is a negative impression of the open end 37 or of the open edge of the casing 17. It is thereby possible for the outer surface of the casing 17 to be flush with the outer surface of the container body 39 and to center the container closure 11 on the container body 39. Therefore, the transition does not have any protrusions, which prevents it from becoming dirty and gives it a pleasing exterior. Since the shoulder and the open end 37 have the shape of an ellipse, the container closure 11 is automatically aligned on the container 15a. Positioning and alignment elements which ensure the correct orientation are therefore superfluous.

[0061] A first and a second latch element 45a, 45b are formed on the container shoulder 41 and latch with the latch openings 35a, 35b when the closure 11 is placed on the container 15a. The container shoulder 41 also has the cross section of an ellipse with another main and secondary axis 47a, 47b in order to correlate with the closure 11. The latch elements 45a, 45b are arranged diametrically on the main axis 47a or are formed from the shoulder 41. The latch element 45 is a step-shaped elevation or a knob whose lowest edge is a second latching edge 49. The first latching edge 35 engages under the second latching edge 49, as a result of which the casing 17 is held on the shoulder 41. The front surface 51 of the latch element 45 penetrates the latch opening 31 and is accordingly flush with the casing surface.

[0062] In the first embodiment, the shoulder 41 is designed hanging. That is, the shoulder 41 has the shape of a truncated cone and does not lie in the horizontal. The first embodiment of the container 15a is extrusion blow-molded. The above-described latch elements 45a, 45b with the second latching edges 49a, 49b, which are formed on the shoulder 41, can only be produced by extrusion blow-molding. The arrangement of the latching edges on the main axis 47a of the shoulder and the hanging shape thereof facilitate the demolding of the container from the blow mold.

[0063] Since, in the first embodiment, the latch elements 45a, 45b can be formed on the shoulder 41 through the latch openings provided in the (outer) casing 17 and not in the neck 43, the neck can have a 5 mm lower height compared to the prior art. The closure 11 can also be accordingly lower.

[0064] The second embodiment according to FIGS. 7 to 10 is a stretch-blow-molded container 15b. Accordingly, a preform is injection-molded on which the container neck 43 is already formed. The shoulder 41 is formed only during stretch blow molding by a radial stretching. It is also conceivable that the horizontal shoulder 41 is formed during injection molding of the preform. As is shown in particular in FIGS. 8 and 10, the latch elements 45a, 45b are formed on the neck 43. A support ring 55 is injection-molded on the neck 43, from which support ring 55 the latch elements 45a, 45b protrude. In the second embodiment, the latch elements have the shape of projections of the support ring 55 and can only be formed by injection molding because of this shape. The second latching edges 49a, 49b are formed by the lower sides of the projections.

[0065] In the second embodiment, the shoulder 41 has a flat horizontal shape, in the form of an ellipse. The latch elements 45a, 45b lie diametrically opposite each other on the secondary axis 47b of the shoulder 41. The second embodiment of the container also saves material, since the container neck 43 is higher than in the first embodiment, but the container shoulder 41 has no height.

[0066] The container closure 11 can be latched both on an extrusion blow-molded container 15a according to the first embodiment and on a stretch-blow-molded container 15b according to the second embodiment. In both cases, the elliptical open end 37 of the casing 17 can be placed on the ledge 44. As a result, the casing 17 can only be placed on the ledge 44 in a single position and is correctly aligned or positioned on the container 15a, 15b without a positioning aid. If the cross section of the container 15a, 15b is oval or elliptical at all points, the closure system, consisting of the container 15a, 15b and the attached container closure 11, has a uniform appearance as if made from one piece. In addition, there are no projections on the closure system on which dirt more easily adheres or which pose a risk of injury. These advantages are due to the flush transition between the casing 17 and the container body 39.