CLOSURE CAP FOR LIQUID CONTAINERS

Abstract

A closure cap for liquid containers, in particular for medicine bottles, includes a cover section, a screw collar arranged thereon with an internal thread for screwing onto an external thread of the liquid container, a functional insert, in particular a dropper or dosing insert, which can be detachably fixed in the closure cap by means of a base section for assembly purposes, and a snap connection between the closure cap and the functional insert, which snap connection is formed by an inwardly projecting bulge projection which runs at least in sections around the inner wall of the closure cap and a latching web which is arranged on the functional insert, is resilient in the radial direction, runs at least in sections around the base section and engages behind the bulge projection in an intermediate assembly position.

Claims

1. A closure cap (1) for a liquid container, comprising a cap body (21), including a cover section (2), a screw collar (3) with an internal thread (5) for screwing onto an external thread (6) of the liquid container, and an inwardly projecting bulge projection (16) which runs at least in sections around an inner wall of the cap body (21); and a functional insert (10) detachably fixed in the cap body (21), including a base section (14), and a latching web (15) which is arranged on the functional insert (10), is resilient in a radial direction, runs at least in sections around the base section (14) and engages behind the inwardly projecting bulge projection (16).

2. A medicine bottle, comprising the closure cap according to claim 1, wherein the functional insert is anchored in a neck of the medicine bottle and wherein the functional insert is retained in the neck of the medicine bottle after removing the closure cap from the medicine bottle.

3. The closure cap according to claim 1, wherein the functional insert (10) is a dropper insert or a dosing insert.

4. The closure cap according to claim 1, wherein the inwardly projecting bulge projection (16) extends continuously around the inner wall of the closure cap (1).

5. The closure cap according to claim 1, wherein the inwardly projecting bulge projection (16) projects radially inwards by 0.3 mm to 1.0 mm.

6. The closure cap according to claim 1, wherein the inwardly projecting bulge projection (16) projects radially inwards by 0.5 mm?0.1 mm.

7. The closure cap according to claim 1, wherein the latching web (15) extends continuously around the base section (14) of the functional insert (10).

8. The closure cap according to claim 1, wherein the latching web (15) is integrally formed on the base section (14) of the functional insert (10).

9. The closure cap according to claim 1, wherein the latching web (15) is configured in the shape of an apron.

10. The closure cap according to claim 1, wherein the latching web (15) widens conically towards a marginal edge (20) engaging behind the bulge projection (16).

11. The closure cap according to claim 1, further comprising a sealing washer (17) inserted between the cover section (2) and the base section (14) of the functional insert (10), wherein the sealing washer (17) is held free of adhesive at a peripheral edge (19) by an additional internal thread (18) on the screw collar (3) in the cap body (21) and is additionally secured by the functional insert (10).

12. The closure cap according to claim 11, wherein the additional internal thread (18) is designed with multiple starts.

13. The closure cap according to claim 11, wherein pitches of the internal thread (5) and the additional internal thread (18) are equal.

14. The closure cap according to claim 11, wherein the sealing washer (17) is an aluminum foam composite washer.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a closure cap,

[0027] FIG. 2 shows a perspective, fractured view of the closure cap according to FIG. 1,

[0028] FIG. 3 shows an exploded representation, sectioned in the axial plane, of a closure cap with an associated threaded neck of a liquid container,

[0029] FIG. 4 shows an axial section of the closure cap in the assembled state on the threaded neck of a liquid container, and

[0030] FIG. 5 shows a perspective, partially sectioned-off view of the closure cap with sealing washer and functional insert.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] As shown in the drawings, a closure cap 1 is provided with a cap body 21 including a circular cover section 2 and a screw collar 3 formed directly thereon. The screw collar 3 has an internal thread 5 on its inner side at a height of approximately ? from the lower edge 4 for screwing the closure cap 1 onto an external thread 6 of a neck 7 of a liquid container shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. A tamper-evident ring 8 is formed in one piece on the lower edge 4 of the closure cap 1 by means of thin breaking webs 9, the construction and mode of operation of which are described in detail in DE 10 2005 040 745 A1 by the applicant and therefore do not require any further explanation here.

[0032] As shown particularly clearly in FIG. 3, a functional insert 10 in the shape of a so-called dropper is provided, which has a sleeve-shaped base body 11. The outer side of the sleeve-shaped base body wall 12 is somewhat convex in shape in order to stabilize the functional insert 10 in its position in the container neck 7, which has a slightly concave profile on the inside.

[0033] A standard drip tube 13 is molded centrally in the base body 11, the design of which ensures that the liquid stored in the container escapes in the form of drops. The design of this drip tube 13 is known and therefore requires no further explanation. Other inserts, such as dosing inserts with eccentrically arranged drip openings and aeration tubes, which are also known from the prior art, can also be used as functional inserts.

[0034] At the upper edge pointing into the closure cap 1 in the direction of engagement E of the functional insert 10, the base body 11 is provided with a thickened, annularly circumferential base section 14 which, on the one hand, with its edge pointing against the direction of engagement E, serves as a stop and sealing edge of the functional insert 10 against the container neck 7see FIG. 4. On the other hand, the base section 14 serves to form a latching web 15 which runs around in the circumferential direction and is resilient in the radial direction and which, together with an inwardly projecting bulge projection 16 which is arranged above the internal thread 5 on the inside of the closure cap 1 and also runs around in an annular manner, ensures that the functional insert 10 is reliably fixed in the closure cap 1 in the preassembled assembly state according to FIG. 2, as will be explained in more detail later.

[0035] A sealing washer 17 made of an aluminum-foam composite material is further inserted between the base section 14 of the functional insert 10 and the cover section 2 of the closure cap. Such sealing washers are commercially offered, for example, under the brand name ALKOzellr by Meyer Seals Alfelder Kunststoffwerke Herm. Meyer GmbH, 31061 Alfeld, D E. This type of sealing washer 17 provides an additional, extremely effective barrier for any contents, in particular volatile contents, in the liquid container. The sealing washer 17 is fastened directly below the cover section 2 of the closure cap 1 by means of an additional internal thread 18 integrally molded there on the inside of the screw collar 3, which is designed with multiple starts, in the example shown with four starts, and has the same pitch as the internal thread 5 on the closure cap 1. The outer diameter of the sealing washer 17 is designed in such a manner that the peripheral edge 19 digs into the threads of the additional internal thread 18, which not only achieves good mechanical anchoring but also an improved sealing effect.

[0036] After the individual components have been produced by the closure cap manufacturer, the components closure cap 1, sealing washer 17 and functional insert 10 are joined together by successively or simultaneously anchoring the sealing washer 17 in the additional internal thread 18 and inserting the functional insert 10 into the closure cap 1 from below. In the process, the apron-shaped latching web 15, which widens conically against the direction of engagement E in the direction of its marginal edge 20 engaging behind the bulge projection 16, runs onto the bulge projection so that the latching web 15 is increasingly pressed inwards until it finally engages with its marginal edge 20 behind the bulge projection 16 and is anchored there. At the same time, the base section 14 of the functional insert 10 presses the sealing washer 17 against the cover section 2, which further improves the sealing effect.

[0037] A closure cap 1 prefabricated in this manner to include a sealing washer 17 and a functional insert 10 can be stored without any problems and can also be handled for the transport and assembly of the closure cap 1 onto a container neck 7, for example by automatic assembly machines, as there is no need to fear any separation of the individual components mentioned.

[0038] In this assembly process, the prefabricated closure cap 1 is screwed with its internal thread 5 onto the external thread 6 on the container neck 7. In the process, the base body 11 of the functional insert 10 penetrates into the container neck 7 until the base section 14 abuts against the edge of the container neck. The functional insert 10 is thus captively mounted on the container neck 7. When the closure cap 1 is unscrewed from the container neck 7 for the first time, not only is the tamper-evident ring 8 detached in the known manner, but the latching between the closure cap 1 and the functional insert 10 is also disengaged, in which the bulge projection 16 is pulled back upwards over the marginal edge 20 of the latching web 15 due to the fixing of the functional insert 10 in the container neck, thus detaching the connection between these two components. In this state, the sealing washer 17 is reliably prevented from falling out by the additional internal thread 18.