Closure device for a container for liquids

Abstract

Closure device for a container for liquids, comprising an elastically deformable membrane, having a main body, which can be placed to close an opening of a container. The membrane comprises a connection portion, an impervious main wall protruding from the connection portion and a free edge which is elastically deformable in the presence of an external suction action. The membrane also has a lower body projecting from the connection portion and comprising a plurality of openings for the passage of liquids and a retaining flange engageable with an edge of the container. The membrane is configured to switch between a resting configuration and a working configuration, in which the free edge of the main body is respectively spaced apart and close to the retaining flange of the lower body.

Claims

1. Closure device for a container for drinking liquids, comprising: an elastically deformable membrane which has: a main body configured to be placed to close an opening of a container for liquids, delimited by an opening edge, the main body comprising a connection portion and an impervious main wall protruding from the connection portion, the main wall having a free edge opposite the connection portion, a lower body projecting from the connection portion of the main body and comprising a retaining flange adapted to engage with the edge of the container to constrain the membrane to the container, the lower body comprising a plurality of openings for the passage of liquids, wherein the free edge is configured to elastically deform when subjected to a suction action of a user, to put an environment inside the container in fluid communication with an environment outside it and allow liquids to exit from the openings, wherein the membrane is configured to elastically switch between a resting configuration, in which the free edge of the main body is spaced from the retaining flange of the lower body, and a working configuration, in which the free edge of the main body is close to the retaining flange of the lower body.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the main body and the lower body of the membrane each have a respective concavity, the concavities of the main body and of the lower body facing opposite orientations in the resting configuration and facing a same orientation in the working configuration.

3. Device according to claim 2, wherein in the working configuration the main body is at least partially housed in the concavity of the lower body.

4. Device according to claim 2, wherein the lower body, in the transition between the resting configuration and the working configuration, is configured to elastically deform, inverting the orientation of the respective concavity by folding at a first folding line which extends between the connection portion of the main body and the lower body.

5. Device according to claim 1, wherein the main body and the lower body have a hollow truncoconical shape, in the resting configuration the main body and the lower body defining an X-shape in section with the respective concavities facing opposite orientations.

6. Device according to claim 1, wherein the membrane has a second folding line along the retaining flange for switching between the resting configuration and the working configuration.

7. Device according to claim 1, wherein the membrane is configured to elastically switch from the resting configuration to the working configuration upon the receipt of a pressure at the connection portion of the main body.

8. Device according to claim 1, wherein the membrane in the working configuration identifies a suction chamber between the main wall of the main body and the lower body, adapted to receive liquids from the container through the plurality of openings, the free edge in the working configuration being adapted to seal the suction chamber and to deform in order to put the suction chamber in fluid communication with the environment outside the container when subjected to the suction action of the user.

9. Device according to claim 1, wherein the membrane is made in one piece, and preferably can be made by means of moulding in the resting configuration.

10. Device according to claim 1, comprising a collar, couplable to the container and comprising a side wall delimiting a cavity adapted to receive the membrane, wherein the free edge of the membrane is configured to abut with an end portion of the colla.

11. Device according to claim 10, wherein the side wall of the colla is configured to retain the retaining flange against the edge of the container.

12. Container for drinking liquids comprising: a container body adapted to receive liquids and having an upper free edge and an opening delimited by the edge to allow the passage of liquids along a main direction, and a closure device according to any one of the preceding claims, coupled to the edge.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Further features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the indicative and thus non-limiting description of a preferred but non-exclusive embodiment of a closure device, as illustrated in the appended drawings, in which:

[0016] FIG. 1 shows a top perspective view of a closure device according to the present disclosure in a first configuration;

[0017] FIG. 2 shows a bottom perspective view of a closure device according to FIG. 1 in the first configuration;

[0018] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the closure device according to the present disclosure in the first configuration;

[0019] FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of a cup-shaped container provided with the device according to the disclosure in the first configuration;

[0020] FIG. 5 shows a top perspective view of a closure device according to the present disclosure in a second configuration;

[0021] FIG. 6 shows a bottom perspective view of a closure device according to FIG. 5 in the second configuration;

[0022] FIG. 7 shows a sectional view of the closure device according to the present disclosure in the second configuration;

[0023] FIG. 8 shows a sectional view of a cup-shaped container provided with the device according to the disclosure in the second configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] With reference to the attached figures, a closure device for a container for liquids is denoted with 1. Instead, 100 indicates the container 100 for liquids, and in particular a container for drinking liquids, which comprises an opening 105 delimited by an opening edge 110.

[0025] The device 1 of the present disclosure comprises an elastically deformable membrane 2, which has a main body 3 adapted to be placed to close the opening 105 of the container 100.

[0026] The main body 3 of the membrane 2 comprises a connection portion 4 and an impervious main wall 5, protruding from the connection wall 4 and has a free edge 6 opposite the connection portion 4.

[0027] According to the preferred embodiment of the disclosure, the connection portion 4 has one or more openings 41 to allow the passage of air between an environment inside the container and an environment outside it. It should be noted that such openings do not allow the passage of liquids. For example, the openings 41 can be shaped as notches in the connection portion 4. Accordingly, the main body 3 as a whole is preferably impervious with respect to liquids.

[0028] The membrane 2 further has a lower body 8 projecting from the connection portion 4 of the main body 3 and comprising a retention flange 10 adapted to engage with the opening edge 110 of the container 100 to constrain the membrane 2 to the container 100. The lower body 8 further comprises a plurality of openings 9 for the passage of liquids. Preferably, the openings 9 have a circular or oval shape. Still preferably, the openings 9 are arranged uniformly on the lower body 8. In particular, the openings 9 can be circumferentially distributed along the lower body 8, and optionally some openings 9 can be radially spaced from each other. Still preferably, the lower body 8 has a plurality of grooves, for example radial grooves, in which one or more openings 9 are positioned.

[0029] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the device 1 comprises a collar 20 couplable to the container 100. It should be noted that the collar 20 is disclosed as a component of the device 1, but it can also be understood as a component of the container 100.

[0030] Preferably, the collar 20 comprises a side wall 21 delimiting a cavity 24 adapted to receive the membrane 2. Still preferably, the collar 20 comprises an end portion 22 having an upper edge 23.

[0031] According to a preferred aspect of the disclosure, the side wall 21 of the collar 20 is adapted to retain the retaining flange 10 against the edge 110 of the container 100 and, more preferably, to retain the retaining flange 10 between the edge 110 of the container 100 and the side wall 21 itself.

[0032] Preferably, the side wall 21 has a thread adapted to couple with a respective thread of the edge 110 of the container 100. The retaining flange 10 is adapted to be inserted between the thread and the upper edge 23 of the collar 20.

[0033] Still preferably, the free edge 6 of the membrane 2 is adapted to abut with the end portion 22 of the collar 20 and, more preferably, with the upper edge 23 of the end portion 22.

[0034] The free edge 6 is therefore adapted to seal the opening 105 of the container 100, engaging for example the opening edge 110 or, alternatively, the end portion 22 of the collar 20. Furthermore, the free edge 6 is configured to elastically deform, when subjected to a suction action of a user, to put an environment inside the container 100 in fluid communication with an environment outside it. In particular, the free edge 6 is configured to allow the exit of liquids passed through the openings 9 of the lower body 8. Such a deformation, of known type, involves a local lifting of the free edge 6 from the opening edge 110 and/or from the end portion 22 of the collar 20.

[0035] The membrane 2 is configured to elastically switch between a resting configuration and a working configuration. The resting configuration is functional to the construction and assembly of the membrane 2, but in such a configuration the membrane 2 is not adapted to seal the opening 105 of the container 100. In particular, in the resting configuration the free edge 6 of the membrane 2 is lifted with respect to the edge 110 of the container 100 and/or with respect to the end portion 22, and in particular with respect to the upper edge 23, of the collar 20. In the resting configuration, illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, the free edge 6 of the main body 3 is spaced from the retaining flange 10 of the lower body 8. In the working configuration, illustrated in FIGS. 5-8, the free edge 6 of the main body 3 is close to the retaining flange 10 of the lower body, so as to seal the opening 105 of the container, and/or the cavity of the collar 20, resting on the edge of the container 110 and/or on the end portion 22, and in particular on the upper edge 23, of the collar 20.

[0036] It should be noted that, for the purposes of the present description, close to refers to a position of the free edge 6 which is less spaced from the retaining flange 10 along a main direction X with respect to the position assumed in the resting configuration.

[0037] Preferably, the membrane 2 is configured to elastically switch from the resting configuration to the working configuration upon the receipt of a pressure at the connection portion 4 of the main body 3. Therefore, the user is capable of coupling the membrane 2 to the container 100 in the resting configuration, and then bringing the membrane from the resting configuration to the working configuration by pressing at the connection portion 4.

[0038] In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the disclosure, illustrated in the attached figures, the main body 3 and the lower body 8 of the membrane 2 each have a respective concavity 3a, 8a, which face in opposite orientations in the resting configuration and in the same orientation in the working configuration. In more detail, the main body 3 and the lower body 8 both have a concave shape, closed at the connection portion 4 and having an opening opposite the connection portion 4.

[0039] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the main body 3 and the lower body 8 have a hollow truncoconical shape. In particular, in the resting configuration the main body 3 and the lower body 8 define an X-shape in section with the respective concavities 3a, 8a facing opposite orientations.

[0040] It should be noted that the membrane 2 of the closing device of the present disclosure has a simple and easily reproducible geometry in the resting configuration. It should therefore be noted that such a geometry allows an accurate and practical cleaning of the device and, in particular, of the membrane.

[0041] According to a preferred aspect of the disclosure, in the working configuration the main body 3 is at least partially housed in the concavity 8a of the lower body 8.

[0042] Preferably, the lower body 8 in the passage between the resting configuration and the working configuration is configured to elastically deform, inverting the orientation of the respective concavity 8a by folding at a first folding line 11 which extends between the connection portion 4 of the main body 3 and the lower body 8.

[0043] Still preferably, the membrane 2 has a second folding line 12 along the retaining flange 10 for switching between the resting configuration and the working configuration.

[0044] According to an aspect, the first folding line 11 and/or the second folding line 12 are defined by grooves comprised respectively in the connection portion 4 and/or in the retaining flange 10. Alternatively, the connection portion 4 and/or the retaining flange 10 are shaped to define weakening portions at the first 11 and/or the second folding line 12, respectively. Such weakening portions are adapted to favour the deformation of the material which constitutes the membrane 2 along the weakening portions.

[0045] Still preferably, the lower body is adapted to deform between the connection portion 4 and the retaining flange 10 to invert the orientation of the respective concavity 8a. Therefore, the retaining flange 10 and the connection portion 4 remain at least partly undeformed in switching between the resting configuration and the working configuration.

[0046] According to a preferred aspect of the disclosure, illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the membrane 2 in the working configuration identifies a suction chamber 7 between the main wall 5 of the main body 3 and the lower body 8. The suction chamber 7 is adapted to receive liquids from the container 100 through the plurality of openings 9 of the lower body 8 and to temporarily retain the liquids.

[0047] Furthermore, the free edge 6 in the working configuration is adapted to seal the suction chamber 7 to retain the liquids. In addition, the free edge is adapted to elastically deform when subjected to the suction action of the user to place the suction chamber 7 in fluid communication with the environment outside the container 100 and thus allow the exit of liquid from the suction chamber 7.

[0048] According to the preferred embodiment of the disclosure, illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 8, the suction chamber 7 is identified between the main wall 5 of the main body 3, the lower body 8 and the side wall 21 of the collar 20.

[0049] According to the preferred embodiment of the disclosure, the membrane 2 is made in a single piece. Preferably, the membrane 2 can be made by moulding, preferably injection moulding, in particular when in the resting configuration. Instead, in the preferred embodiments, the shape of the membrane 2 in the working configuration would not allow its moulding.

[0050] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, not illustrated, the membrane 2 can be made overmolded to the collar.

[0051] Preferably, the membrane 2 is made of polymeric material and, more preferably, of silicone.

[0052] Advantageously, the membrane 2 has a shape which is optimised and simple to make, defined by simple geometric figures obtainable by moulding. It is thereby possible to speed up and simplify the membrane manufacturing process and simplify the assembly process on a container. In fact, as previously anticipated, making the membrane in a single piece according to a simple geometry makes cleaning the device more practical.

[0053] A further object of the present disclosure is a container 100 for liquids comprising a container body 101 adapted to receive liquids and having a free opening edge 110 and an opening 105 delimited by the edge 110 to allow the passage of liquids along the main direction X.

[0054] The container 100 subject-matter of the present disclosure further comprises a closure device 1 according to the present description coupled to the edge 110.

[0055] According to a preferred aspect of the disclosure, the coupling between the device 1 and the opening edge 110 of the container 100 occurs by means of reversible connection between respective threads of the collar 20 of the device 1 and the edge 110 of the container.

[0056] According to an alternative embodiment, the retaining flange 10 of the membrane 2 of the device 1 can comprise a respective seat adapted to internally receive at least in part the edge 110 of the container for coupling thereto. Alternatively, the container 100 can have a seat adapted to receive and be constrained to the retaining flange 10 of the membrane 2 of the device 1.