Container comprising a single-piece head section

Abstract

A container of a plastic material is produced using a blow-fill-seal method, and has a container body (1) for receiving a fluid as well as a neck section (5) connected to the container body (1). At the container free end, a dispensing opening (13) for fluid is sealed via a separating region (15, 19) with a head section (17) that can be removed from the neck section (5) by actuating a movable sleeve section (35). By releasing the separating region (15, 19), the dispensing opening (13) is exposed. From the unactuated state to the actuated state in which the separating region (15, 19) is released, the sleeve section (35) is guided so as to be at least partially in contact with a guide path (23) that is part of the removable head section (17).

Claims

1. A container, comprising: a container body capable of receiving a fluid; a neck section being connected to said container body and having a dispensing opening at a free end of said neck section capable of dispensing the fluid from said container body; a head section being removably connected to said neck section by a separating region and releasably sealing said dispensing opening closed; and a movable sleeve section being coupled to said neck section and being actuatable to remove said head section from said neck section by releasing said separating region to open said dispensing opening, said movable sleeve section being movable from an unactuated state in which said dispensing opening is closed to an actuated state in which said separating region is released and being guided by being at least partially in contact with a guide path that is part of said head section, said guide path being formed on an outside of a ring collar surrounding said head section and extending between said separating region and an annular groove on said head section, said ring collar having an axial extension with a length of said annular groove measured on a smallest diameter size thereof.

2. A container according to claim 1 wherein said neck section comprises a male thread and said sleeve section comprises a female thread engaging said male thread to actuate said sleeve section, screwing said male and female threads causing said sleeve section to release said separating region to open said dispensing opening.

3. A container according to claim 2 wherein said sleeve section comprises a contact shoulder with said head section entraining said head section to release the separating region.

4. A container according to claim 2 wherein said sleeve section has flexible contact fingers on a free end face of said sleeve section, said contact fingers engaging a projection on said head section in an underhand manner and entraining said head section as said sleeve section is unscrewed with said separating region being released.

5. A container according to claim 2 wherein said sleeve section has flexible contact fingers on a free end face of said sleeve section, said contact fingers engaging a projection on said head section in an underhand manner and entraining said head section as said sleeve section is being unscrewed with said separating region being unreleased.

6. A container according to claim 1 wherein said annular groove forms a space in which flexible contact fingers on a free end of said sleeve section are receivable.

7. A container according to claim 3 wherein said sleeve section comprises flexible contact fingers on a free end of said sleeve section, said contact fingers engaging a projection on said head section in an underhand manner; an allocatable contact surface of said sleeve section is in full contact with said guide path of said ring collar; and said contact shoulder of said sleeve section overlaps an end of said ring collar at an upper end of said guide path.

8. A container according to claim 1 wherein a reinforcing rib projects inwardly and connects to said separating region on an inner circumferential side of said ring collar.

9. A container according to claim 8 wherein with said sleeve section unactuated, said reinforcing rib has a wedge-shape in cross section, with a longest leg of said wedge-shape in a direction of said neck section ending at said separating region and being parallel and spaced apart from a boundary line closing said reinforcing rib.

10. A container according to claim 1 wherein said dispensing opening of said neck section is delimited by an annular bulge projecting over said separating region toward said sleeve section in the unactuated state and bordering said separating region with a largest cross-sectional diameter dimension thereof.

11. A container according to claim 1 wherein said sleeve section comprises an outer contour provided with a bevel in a direction of flexible contact fingers on a free end of said sleeve section, said bevel being adapted to an inclined position of said contact fingers.

12. A container, comprising: a container body capable of receiving a fluid; a neck section being connected to said container body and having a dispensing opening at a free end of said neck section capable of dispensing the fluid from said container body; a head section being removably connected to said neck section by a separating region and releasably sealing said dispensing opening closed; a movable sleeve section being coupled to said neck section and being actuatable to remove said head section from said neck section by releasing said separating region to open said dispensing opening, said movable sleeve section being movable from an unactuated state in which said dispensing opening is closed to an actuated state in which said separating region is released and being guided by being at least partially in contact with a guide path that is part of said head section, said guide path being formed on an outside of a ring collar surrounding said head section; and a reinforcing rib projecting inwardly and being connected to said separating region on an inner circumferential side of said ring collar.

13. A container according to claim 12 wherein with said sleeve section unactuated, said reinforcing rib has a wedge-shape in cross section, with a longest leg of said wedge-shape in a direction of said neck section ending at said separating region and being parallel and spaced apart from a boundary line closing said reinforcing rib.

14. A container, comprising: a container body capable of receiving a fluid; a neck section being connected to said container body and having a dispensing opening at a free end of said neck section capable of dispensing the fluid from said container body; a head section being removably connected to said neck section by a separating region and releasably sealing said dispensing opening closed; and a movable sleeve section being coupled to said neck section and being actuatable to remove said head section from said neck section by releasing said separating region to open said dispensing opening, said movable sleeve section being movable from an unactuated state in which said dispensing opening is closed to an actuated state in which said separating region is released and being guided by being at least partially in contact with a guide path that is part of said head section, said dispensing opening of said neck section being delimited by an annular bulge projecting over said separating region toward said sleeve section in the unactuated state and bordering said separating region with a largest cross-sectional diameter dimension thereof.

15. A container, comprising: a container body capable of receiving a fluid; a neck section being connected to said container body and having a dispensing opening at a free end of said neck section capable of dispensing the fluid from said container body; a head section being removably connected to said neck section by a separating region and releasably sealing said dispensing opening closed; and a movable sleeve section being coupled to said neck section and being actuatable to remove said head section from said neck section by releasing said separating region to open said dispensing opening, said movable sleeve section being movable from an unactuated state in which said dispensing opening is closed to an actuated state in which said separating region is released and being guided by being at least partially in contact with a guide path that is part of said head section, said guide path being formed on an outside of a ring collar surrounding said head section and extending between said separating region and an annular groove on said head section, said annular groove forming a space; flexible contact fingers on a free end face of said sleeve section, said contact fingers being received in said space formed by said annular groove, engaging a projection on said head section in an underhand manner and entraining said head section as said sleeve section is unscrewed with said separating region being released; and a reinforcing rib projecting inwardly and being connected to said separating region on an inner circumferential side of said ring collar.

16. A container according to claim 15 wherein said neck section comprises a male thread and said sleeve section comprises a female thread engaging said male thread to actuate said sleeve section, screwing said male and female threads causing said sleeve section to release said separating region to open said dispensing opening.

17. A container according to claim 16 wherein said sleeve section comprises a contact shoulder with said head section entraining said head section to release the separating region.

18. A container according to claim 16 wherein said contact fingers engage said projection on said head section in an underhand manner and entrain said head section as said sleeve section is being unscrewed with said separating region being unreleased.

19. A container according to claim 16 wherein said ring collar has an outer diameter corresponding to an inner diameter of said neck section in a region of said male thread.

20. A container according to claim 15 wherein an allocatable contact surface of said sleeve section is in full contact with said guide path of said ring collar; and said contact shoulder of said sleeve section overlaps an end of said ring collar at an upper end of said guide path.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Referring to the drawings that form a part of this disclosure:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view, illustrated in approximately the natural size of a practical embodiment, of a container according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, with the opening-actuation element in the standby position;

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the container of FIG. 1, with the actuation element omitted;

(4) FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial side view in section, drawn on a larger scale, of just the neck section and head section region of the container of FIG. 1, in which the actuation element is shown in a partially screwed-on starting position;

(5) FIG. 4 is an enlarged, partial side view in section of the container of FIG. 1, with the actuation element illustrated in the standby position;

(6) FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view in section of the container of FIG. 1, with the actuation element in the screwed-on position after the opening of the container; and

(7) FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial side view in section of the container of FIG. 1, with the actuation element in a position in which it is partially unscrewed from the opened container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(8) As can be discerned from FIGS. 1 and 2, this exemplary embodiment of the container of the invention has a main container section 1 in the form of a plastic bottle. With reference to a central main axis 3, the main container section 1 possesses a square cross section with rounded corner regions and is designed with a 150 ml fill volume for receiving a fluid. As FIG. 2 most clearly shows, a neck section 5 coaxial to the axis 3 is molded onto the upper surface of the main section 1. The diameter of neck section 5 corresponds to roughly half the width of the main section 1. The outside of the neck section 5 is provided with a male thread 7 on approximately half of its length. As FIGS. 3-5 most clearly show, in its upper region the neck section 5 has, at a short axial distance from the uppermost winding of the male thread 7, an annular surface 9 that extends radially inwards, is upwardly inclined toward the axis 3, and transitions at the upper end into an end surface 11 extending upwards and diverging outwards from the axis 3. The end edge of end surface 11 surrounds the access opening 13 of the neck section 5. An edge bulge 15 that protrudes slightly outwards is then formed on the edge of the access opening 13. As a sealing section for the access opening 13, a head section 17 is molded on the edge of the access opening 13 as an integral part of the neck section 5. The edge bulge 15 and a reinforcing rib 19, which is located on the front-facing end of the head section 17, jointly form a separating region in which the junction point between the edge bulge 15 and the reinforcing rib 19 forms a predetermined breaking point. At the breaking point, head section 17 can be detached from the neck section 5 to expose the access opening 13 for an extraction process. The reinforcing rib 19 is present as a wedge-shaped, radially inward-extending projection on the end of a ring collar 21. The outside of ring collar 21 forms an outer cylinder surface 23, on the upper end of which is formed a step surface 25 that borders the radial length of the outer cylinder surface 23 and that extends radially inwards into an adjoining annular groove 27 of the head section 17. The upper end of the annular groove 27 is delimited by a flange-shaped radially outward-extending projection 29, which transitions into the upper end surface 31 of the head section 17.

(9) As a tearing-off aid for releasing the head section 17 at the predetermined breaking point formed at the separating region 15, 19, a sleeve section 35 can be screwed onto the male thread 7 of the neck section 5. The sleeve section 35 has a female thread 37 in a circular cylindrical longitudinal section thereof and a longitudinal riffle 39 on the outside of that section. A sloping surface 41 adjoins the circumferential section having the riffle 39, which sloping surface 41 reduces the outer diameter of the neck section 35 toward the upper free end face. Starting from the sloping surface 41, a ring of contact fingers 43 extends to the upper end face. The contact fingers 43 are inclined toward the axis 3. In the region between the sloping surface 41 and the contact fingers 43, the neck section 43 forms an inside contact shoulder 45 in the form of an annular surface lying in a radial plane.

(10) FIG. 3 shows the sleeve section 35 in a starting position in which it is only partially screwed on, in which the contact shoulder 45 is located at a distance from the step surface 25 on the ring collar 21 and the contact fingers 43 extend to the upper end surface 31 of the head section 17.

(11) FIG. 4 shows the state in which the sleeve section 35, after being screwed on further, is in a standby position in which the contact fingers 43 are snapped into the annular groove 27 of the head section 17 beneath the projection 29. The sleeve section 35 has moved sufficiently far downwards such that a circular cylindrical inner contact surface 47 located in the region of the sloping surface 41 on the sleeve section 35 is in full contact with the outer cylinder surface 23 of the ring collar 21. The outer cylinder surface 23 then forms a guide path for the sleeve section 35, on which the sleeve section 35 is guided in its axial movement as it is being screwed on.

(12) As the sleeve section 35 is being screwed on further from the standby position shown in FIG. 4 to the opening position shown in FIG. 5, in which the contact surface 47 of the sleeve section 35 slides on the guide wall formed by the outer cylinder surface 23 of the ring collar 21, the contact shoulder 45 of the sleeve section 35, which contact shoulder 45 overlaps the step surface 25 of the ring collar 21, entrains the head section 17 such that the predetermined breaking point tears at the separating region 15, 17, and the access opening 13 is exposed (see FIG. 5, in which this state is illustrated).

(13) FIG. 6 shows the sleeve section 35 in a position in which the sleeve section 35 is partially unscrewed from the position shown in FIG. 5, after the opening or tearing-off process. During this axial movement, the head section 17 is entrained by the underhand grip of the contact fingers 43 on the projection 29 such that, when the sleeve section 35 is completely unscrewed, the head section 17 is removed together with the sleeve section 35 and is then undetachably secured to the removed sleeve section 35. Should a subsequent closing of the bottle be desired, the head section 17 is then available without any intervention on the user's part for being screwed back on together with the sleeve section 35. Because the inner contact surface 47 of the sleeve section 35 is in full contact with the outer cylinder surface 23 of the ring collar 21 that forms the guide path, a counter-bearing can be formed for the ring collar 21, and the access opening 13 can be resealed by tightening the screw connection and by the reinforcing rib 19 contacting the annular surface 9 of the neck section 5 (see FIG. 5).

(14) If the contact fingers 43 are configured as sufficiently rigid, the opening process can also be carried out by unscrewing the sleeve section 35 from the standby position (FIG. 4). During the upwards-running axial movement, the contact fingers 43 in underhand grip with the projection 29 entrain the head section 17 for an upwards-running shearing movement.

(15) While one embodiment has been chosen to illustrate the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.