Stopper with an obstuctor for a can and method for the production of said stopper

• US 20060201905A1
• Filed: 07/08/2003
• Published: 09/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance SA (Tetra Laval Holdings BV)
• Original Assignee: Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance SA (Tetra Laval Holdings BV)
• Inventors: Perrin, Gerard, Pionchon, Henri
• Granted Patent: US 8,016,143 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 215/253
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 45/0081 of objects with parts connected by a thin section, e.g. hinge, tear line
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 45/40 Removing or ejecting moulded articles
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 45/4407 by flexible movement of undercut portions of the articles
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/565 for containers
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 47/10 having frangible closures
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 47/121 Stoppers
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 3/0032 the bottle or container being held upside down and provided with a closure, e.g. a cap, adapted to cooperate with a feed tube

Abstract

The invention relates to a stopper, provided with an obstructor (1), for a can. Said stopper comprises a cap (3) provided with a central opening (5) and an annular skirt (7), and an annular shaft (17) extending around the opening, in addition to a capsule (19) which is detachably fixed, by means of a tear element (23), to a free edge (25) of the shaft opposite the opening. The tear element joining the shaft to the capsule is placed in an entrance area at an angle in the free edge of the shaft. At least one sealing lip (37) is disposed on the inner surface of the shaft, and the cap, skirt and capsule of the stopper are moulded in a single piece without any welding or the addition of another component or detachable part. The invention also relates to a method for the production of said stopper by offset injection in a region which is outside the cap.

Claims

1-11. -11. (canceled)

12. In an obturation cap for a liquid container intended to be used in upside down position in a liquid dispenser provided with a feeding system including a feed tube, said cap comprising

a lid provided with a central opening;

an annular skirt extending in a given direction all around an external periphery of the lid, said skirt being provided with a central axis and being devised and sized to be connected to the neck of the container;

an annular sleeve extending all around the central opening of the lid in the same direction as the skirt and coaxially therewith, the central opening and the sleeve surrounding the same being both sized to receive and guide the feed tube of the liquid dispenser used with the container closed by the cap; and

a plug fixed in a detachable manner by means of a frangible connection to a free edge of the sleeve opposite to the central opening, said plug being coaxial to the sleeve and devised to be separated from the same when the container closed by the cap is inserted into the liquid dispenser, the frangible connection between the sleeve and the plug being located in an angularly oriented inlet zone made in the free edge of the sleeve for, on one hand, facilitating tearing of the frangible connection during insertion of the cap onto the feed tube of the liquid dispenser and, on the other hand, facilitating engagement of the plug within the sleeve during extraction of the feed tube, the plug then acting as an obturator, said plug being also provided with internal gripping means for fixing it temporarily to an upper end of the feed tube during water flow, and with external sealing means for closing the sleeve when the container is removed from the liquid dispenser, the plug being then pulled back to the sleeve and forced into the same by the feed tube while the same is extracted from the sleeve,

said lid, said skirt, said sleeve and said plug of the cap being molded in one piece without welding or adjunction of additional component or removable piece, the improvement wherein;

the angularly oriented inlet zone where is located the frangible connection between the sleeve and the plug comprises a portion above the frangible connection with an inwardly oriented inclination angle ranging from 20°

to 60° and

a portion below the frangible connection with an inwardly oriented inclination angle ranging from 5°

to 20°

; and

at least one sealing tongue is located on the inner surface of the sleeve to improve sealing of the cap and ensure a prealignment of the plug within the sleeve during extraction of the feed tube.

13. The cap according to claim 12, wherein the portion above the frangible connection has an inwardly oriented inclination angle of about 45°

.

14. The cap according to claim 13, wherein the portion below the frangible connection has an inwardly oriented inclination angle of about 45°

.

15. The cap according to claim 12, wherein that the skirt is provided with a pulling tab associated to a frangible line made in the internal surface of the skirt to allow tearing of said skirt and thus to facilitate removal of the cap from the neck of the container.

16. The cap according to claim 12, wherein that the skirt has an internal surface provided with at least one rim positioned to improve water tightness of the cap once said cap has been mounted onto the neck of the bottle.

17. The cap according to claim 12, wherein that the lid has an external surface provided with a central zone forming a recess to allow positioning of a seal to close the central opening before use.

18. The cap according to claim 17, wherein the seal positioned in the central zone of the lid is attached to it by welding.

19. The cap according to claim 12, wherein that it further comprises an annular sealing joint positioned at an internal junction between the lid and the skirt.

20. The cap according to claim 12, wherein that the lid and the annular skirt together have a junction forming a rim allowing injection of plastic material from an external radius of the lid.

21. The cap according to claim 15, wherein

the skirt has an internal surface provided with at least one rim positioned to improve water tightness of the cap once said cap has been mounted onto the neck of the bottle;

the lid has an external surface provided with a central zone forming a recess to allow positioning of a seal to close the central opening before use;

said cap further comprises an annular sealing joint positioned at an internal junction between the lid and the skirt; and

the lid and the annular skirt together have a junction forming a rim allowing injection of plastic material from an external radius of the lid.

22. The cap according to claim 12, wherein

the portion above the frangible connection has an inwardly oriented inclination angle of about 45°

;

the portion below the frangible connection has an inwardly oriented inclination angle of about 45°

.

23. A method for manufacturing an obturation cap according to claim 20, characterized in that it comprises the following successive steps:

(1) injecting a plastic material in a molding cavity in the form of the cap to be molded by means of an injector located laterally with respect to said cavity, the injection being carried out laterally at a point located onto the rim formed by the lid and the annular skirt at their junction, said molding cavity being located in a mold comprising;

(a) a first part hereinafter called “

fixed part”

, which is provided with a plurality of axially movable elements, said elements including;

a tubular member having an external periphery acting as an internal molding support for the annular sleeve of the cap;

an ejecting ring coaxially mounted externally around the tubular member; and

a central core coaxially mounted inside the tubular member, said central core having a lower end acting as an internal molding support for the lid; and

(b) a second part hereinafter called “

moving part”

, which is provided with a plurality of other axially movable elements, said other elements including;

another core having an external upper periphery acting as an internal molding support for the skirt of the cap;

a socket coaxially mounted inside the other core, said socket having an upper edge and an upper internal periphery acting as an external molding support for the sleeve and the plug of the cap and for one part of the external sealing means of said plug;

another tubular member coaxially mounted inside the socket, said other tubular member having an upper edge acting as a molding support for another part of the external sealing means of the plug of the cap; and

a central member coaxially mounted inside the other tubular member, said central member having an upper surface acting as an external molding support for the lid;

(c) actuating means for separating the fixed and movable parts of the mold and for pushing and pulling the above mentioned movable elements of said fixed and movable parts of the mold;

(d) said fixed and movable parts of the mold being in adjacent position during injection for completing and closing the molding cavity;

(2) starting a separation of the fixed and the moving part of the mold while holding the central member in original position, thereby removing an internal support from the sleeve while allowing the central core to remain within the plug and move therewith;

(3) continuing separation of the fixed part and the moving part of the mold in order to obtain extraction of the central core from the plug and the sleeve, the cap being then held within the moving part of the mold by means of its external sealing means;

(4) actuating the other core simultaneously with the socket and the other tubular member to extract the cap from the moving part of the mold, such an extraction being carried out while maintaining the other tubular member in original position so as to liberate the external sealing means of the plug from the moving part of the mold;

(5) subsequently actuating the socket and the central member for extracting the cap from the other core, said extraction liberating the skirt of the cap;

(6) actuating the central member to move it within the socket in order to extract the whole cap; and

(7) bringing all the movable elements and parts to their original position to start manufacturing another obturation cap.