Abstract
Illustrated and described is a pouring element for a composite package, including a monolithic main body with a flange, a hollow cylindrical spout, which defines a central axis, and a closure part formed in the spout, which runs substantially orthogonal to the central axis, with a weakening zone, a hollow cylindrical cutting element movably guided in the spout with at least one cutting tooth for severing the weakening zone to open the spout and composite package, a reclosable screw cap, which serves to drive the cutting element when the composite package is opened for the first time. Two alternative composite packages for liquid foodstuffs are also described, which are provided such that a pouring element according to the invention is integrated into the gable region of the composite package. An overall more favourable alternative of a pouring element without additional barrier foil is designed such that the main body consists of at least 92% by weight of HDPE and according to ASTM D3985 has an oxygen transmission rate between 12 and 23 ml O.sub.2/(m.sup.2*day), measured through a measuring surface which is orthogonal to the central axis and runs through the flange of the main body.
Claims
1. A pouring element for a composite package, comprising: a monolithic main body with a flange, a hollow cylindrical spout, which defines a central axis, and a closure part, formed in the spout, which runs substantially orthogonal to the central axis, with a weakening zone, a hollow cylindrical cutting element movably guided in the spout with at least one cutting tooth for severing the weakening zone to open the spout and composite package, a reclosable screw cap, which serves to drive the cutting element when the composite package is opened for the first time, wherein the main body consists of at least 92% by weight of HDPE and according to ASTM D3985 has an oxygen transmission rate between 12 and 23 ml O.sub.2/(m.sup.2*day), measured through a measuring surface which is orthogonal to the central axis and runs through the flange of the main body.
2. The pouring element according to claim 1, wherein the main body has an oxygen transmission rate of less than 20, preferably of less than 18, ml O.sub.2/(m.sup.2*day), measured through a measuring surface which is orthogonal to the central axis and runs through the flange of the main body.
3. The pouring element according to claim 1, wherein the weakening zone has less than 50% of the height of the remaining closure part measured parallel to the central axis.
4. The pouring element according to claim 1, wherein the weakening zone is designed in a ring shape and connects directly to the spout.
5. The pouring element according to claim 1, wherein the entire pouring element allows a light transmission of less than 1% in a wavelength range of 350 to 550 nm before the first opening.
6. The pouring element according to claim 1, wherein the cutting element and the screw cap also consist of polyolefins.
7. The pouring element according to claim 6, wherein the entire pouring element consists of renewable raw materials.
8. The pouring element according to claim 1, wherein the cutting element consists of polypropylene.
9. The pouring element according to claim 8, wherein the polypropylene has a flexural modulus of at least 1900 MPa.
10. The pouring element according to claim 1, wherein the cutting tooth extends at the end facing the weakening zone in a circumferential direction in a plane orthogonal to the central axis.
11. The pouring element according to claim 1, wherein the cutting element is designed to be radially thickened inwards in the region of the cutting tooth.
12. The pouring element according to claim 1, wherein the cutting element has two cutting teeth.
13. A composite package for liquid foodstuffs which is provided such that a pouring element according to claim 1 is integrated into the gable region of the composite package.
14. The composite package for liquid foodstuffs, which is provided such that a pouring element is integrated into the gable region of the composite package according to claim 1, wherein the gable region has polyhedral gable surfaces, which are correspondingly connected to a polyhedral flange of the pouring element.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0034] The invention will be explained in more detail below on the basis of a drawing which simply represents two preferred exemplary embodiments. The drawing shows
[0035] FIG. 1 a pouring element according to the invention in perspective view,
[0036] FIG. 2 the pouring element according to the invention in plan view,
[0037] FIG. 3 the pouring element according to the invention from FIG. 2 in the vertical section along the line III-III,
[0038] FIG. 4 a detailed view of the vertical section from FIG. 3,
[0039] FIG. 5 a detailed view of the vertical section from FIG. 3 during the opening process,
[0040] FIG. 6 a screw cap in plan view,
[0041] FIG. 7 the screw cap from FIG. 6 in the vertical section along the line VII-VII,
[0042] FIG. 8 the screw cap from FIG. 6 in perspective view from below,
[0043] FIG. 9 a cutting element according to FIG. 3 in perspective view from above,
[0044] FIG. 10 the cutting element in perspective view from below,
[0045] FIG. 11 a composite package according to the invention with integrated pouring element after the first opening and reclosing of the screw cap in a sectioned perspective view,
[0046] FIG. 12 a pouring element according to the invention of a second exemplary embodiment in perspective view,
[0047] FIG. 13 the pouring element according to the invention from FIG. 12 in plan view,
[0048] FIG. 14 the pouring element according to the invention from FIG. 13 in the vertical section along the line XIV-XIV,
[0049] FIG. 15 the pouring element according to the invention from FIG. 13 in the vertical section along the line XV-XV,
[0050] FIG. 16 a detailed view of the vertical section from FIG. 15,
[0051] FIG. 17 a screw cap of the second exemplary embodiment in perspective view and
[0052] FIG. 18 a cutting element of the second exemplary embodiment in perspective view.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0053] Two preferred embodiments of a pouring element 1 and 1 according to the invention are represented in the drawing in order to make clear the mode of operation when opening. FIG. 1 shows a first pouring element 1 in a closed state with a central axis Z without composite package P. A reclosable screw cap 2, which is used for the first opening and for reclosing the composite package P, is located on a main body 3, which is only clearly visible in FIG. 3 and from which in FIG. 1 only one circumferential flange 4 is visible, which is used for connection with and integration into the composite package P. In the plan view of FIG. 2, a section line III-III is also drawn in.
[0054] FIG. 3 shows the entire pouring element 1 in the vertical section along the section line III-III. The main body 3 also has a hollow cylindrical spout 5 and a closure part 6 formed in the spout 5. The closure part 6 comprises a ring-shaped weakening zone 7, which adjoins the spout 5, a central region 8, which closes the majority of the dispensing opening, and a conical ring-shaped intermediate region 9, which extends between weakening zone 7 and central region 8. The chamfering of the intermediate region 9 compensates for the thickness difference between the central region 8 and the weakening zone 7. In this sectional view, it is also discernible that both the circumferential flange 4 and the central region 8 have approximately six times the height of the weakening zone 7. This clearly shows how oxygen is most permeated through the weakening zone 7, wherein the sealing of the screw cap 2 to this interior of the pouring element 1 can never be designed to be completely gas-tight.
[0055] Between screw cap 2 and the outer side of the spout 5 there is a first thread pair 10A and 10B, which enables screw cap 2 to be screwed on and tightened. A hollow cylindrical cutting element 11 with two cutting teeth 12 is arranged inside the main body 3, which separates the closure part 6 when the pouring element 1 and thus the composite package P are opened for the first time. The central axis Z is defined by the concentrically arranged hollow cylindrical elements of the spout 5 and the cutting element 11, wherein the cutting element 11 rotates about the central axis Z and moves along it during the opening process. This movement is defined by a second thread pair 13A and 13B, which is located between the inner side of the spout 5 and the cutting element 11. In this movement, the cutting element 11 is driven on at least one force takeover element 14, which interacts with at least one corresponding force transmission element 15 of the screw cap 2.
[0056] The detailed views in FIGS. 4 and 5 show how the cutting teeth 12 strike the weakening zone 7 and the intermediate region 9 and start to separate this region. FIGS. 3 and 4 show the original arrangement of the elements before the first opening and FIG. 5 the one during the opening process. It is particularly easy to see here how the cutting element 11 and therefore the cutting teeth 12 are arranged above the intermediate region 9, since the inner delimitation of the projection of the cutting tooth 12 is also shown with the projection line represented with a dashed line.
[0057] FIGS. 6 to 8 correspond approximately to the views in FIGS. 1 to 3, wherein only the screw cap 2 is shown here. In this case, half of the first thread pair 10A in FIG. 7 and the three force transmission elements 15 in FIG. 8 are particularly clearly visible. The screw cap 2 also has a strip 16 serving as a tamper-evident seal and an anchor ring 17. For this purpose, the strip 16 immediately detaches from the rest of the screw cap 2 when opened for the first time and remains visibly separated in its original position. Stop elements 18 on the strip 16, which hook onto corresponding elements of the main body 3, ensure that the strip 16 has already detached from the rest of the screw cap 2 before the cutting element 11 impairs the integrity of the closure part 6 during separation. The anchor ring 17 also detaches during the first opening process and then remains on the spout 5, wherein the anchor ring 17 and the rest of the screw cap 2 remain connected by retaining elements. These are designed such that the screw cap 2, after it has been unscrewed from the spout 5, can be folded to the side in order to enable pouring. The arrangement of the mentioned parts of the screw cap 2 and the corresponding elements of the spout 5 can also be seen in the detailed views of FIGS. 4 and 5.
[0058] In FIGS. 9 and 10, a single cutting element 11 is also represented in two different perspective views. The two cutting teeth 12, which are formed at the lower end of the cutting element 11, are now clearly visible. The three force takeover elements 14 can also be seen on the inner wall and the thread of the second thread pair 13B on the outer wall.
[0059] An open composite package P with reclosed screw cap 2 can be seen in the sectioned view of FIG. 11 from the inside, wherein a tab is particularly noticeable. This occurs because the closure part 6 loses its tension during the separation process before the cutting element 11 could cut a complete circle. The tab, which roughly corresponds to the central region 8 and the intermediate region 9, then only holds on a single segment of the weakening zone 7, is pressed to the side by the further movement of the cutting element 11 and thus releases the dispensing opening. This segment of the weakening zone 7 is sufficient to hold the tab in its folded away state when the composite package P is open in order to reliably prevent an unintentional tearing off of the tab and complete severing of the weakening zone 7. The cutting tooth 12 formed at the front in the direction of rotation is positioned at the end of the first opening such that it is at the height of the tab and thus holds it stable to the side.
[0060] FIGS. 12 to 18 of the drawing show a second preferred exemplary embodiment, wherein the differences are in particular pointed out. The remaining embodiments of the first exemplary embodiment also apply accordingly to the following part. The flange 4 of the main body 3 is designed here as a pyramid stump in a polyhedral shape. In particular, it should be noted that the contact surfaces with the composite material of the composite package P no longer lie in a plane, but are provided by the four side surfaces of the pyramid stump, as is particularly discernible in FIGS. 12 to 14. Apart from the flange 4, the basic structure of the pouring element 1 is comparable with the first exemplary embodiment: It is also a three-part pouring element 1 with a main body 3, a screw cap 2 and a cutting element 11. Between the screw cap 2 and the outer side of the spout 5 of the main body 3 is located the first thread pair 10A, 10B and the second thread pair 13A, 13B connects the inner side of the spout 5 to the cutting element 11 in order to arrange it in a movable manner. Comparable elements are also designed for transmitting force during the opening process from the screw cap 2 to the cutting element 11, wherein in FIGS. 17 and 18, it can be seen that screw cap 2 and cutting element 11 are connected to one another by respectively two force transmission elements 14 and force transmission elements 15.
[0061] Finally, FIGS. 15 and 16 clearly show that a modification of the cutting element 11 can also be carried out in that the cutting tooth 12, in particular in the upper region, is designed reinforced in its thickness. Thus, the cutting element 11 is thickened radially inwards such that it protrudes over the intermediate region 9 in the assembled state and comes into contact therewith during the opening process.
