EP3365242B1 - Closure device for a container - Google Patents

Description

Field of engineering

The invention relates to a closure device for closing a container opening of a container, in particular a beverage bottle, wherein the closure device has a cover element, a chamber arranged on the cover element and an inner housing, wherein the chamber and the inner housing have mutually corresponding closure means and opening means which interacts in this way each other, that a medium contained in the chamber can escape due to a movement of the lid member relative to the inner housing in the container, wherein the closure means is a closure pin.

These features emerge from the document WO 2010/114309 A2 ,

State of the art

Closure devices of the aforementioned type are known in the art. These are used to close a container and at the same time to provide a chamber for the separate storage of liquid or powdered media, for example tea essences or the like, so that it does not immediately upon filling the container with the contents of the container, i. For example, water, come into contact and / or mixed, but only at the moment in which the closure device is removed from the container. This is usually the moment in which the content of the container is to be consumed.

The publication WO 2007/129116 A1 relates, for example, to a closure device of the aforementioned type, which, when opening a container sealed with it, contains an additional liquid in the chamber Dispenses container. The closure device has a cover element, a chamber and an inner housing. The inner housing has a discharge opening into which a plug element connected to the inner housing sealingly engages. The cover element and the inner housing are connected to one another by screw threads, wherein the cover element can be raised relative to the inner housing from a closed position in which the plug element closes the discharge opening of the chamber into a discharge position in which the plug element is at least partially withdrawn from the discharge opening is to provide a communication path from the chamber into the main liquid space of the container. In this case, the stored in the chamber medium can escape into the container, where it is mixed with the medium in the container.

From the US 7,588,142 B1 is a closure device is known in which a closure cap is provided as a closure means, which is connected to an inner wall of the chamber. The chamber is cylindrical throughout. Furthermore, from the WO 2008/111731 A1 a closure device is known in which a pin-like design at its free end closure means is disposed directly on a chamber ceiling and extends only in the region of the longitudinal axis of the chamber. The chamber is continuously cylindrical with respect to its inner surface.

Summary of the invention

Based on the aforementioned prior art, the invention has the object to provide a closure device, which is designed low in terms of the closure means and the chamber.

This object is achieved in the subject matter of claim 1, wherein it is based on that between a closure end of the closure pin and the closure opening, a sealing element is arranged and that between an inner surface of a drain nozzle and an outer surface of a channel dome of the inner housing another sealing element is arranged, so that two surrounding sealing zones are formed, which are arranged in a direction perpendicular to - relative to a given during opening movement direction of the opening means relative to the chamber concentric with each other.

The closure means, namely the closure pin, is arranged on the chamber, while the opening means, ie the closure opening, is formed on the inner housing. In a closed position of the closure device, the closure pin closes the closure opening by either engaging in or covering the closure opening. By opening the closure device, ie a spacing of the lid member from the container - and thus simultaneously displacement of the chamber relative to the inner housing - the closure pin is removed from the closure opening, so that the medium contained in the chamber can flow through the closure opening into the container , In the manufacture of the closure device, the chamber is advantageously introduced concentrically into the inner housing, wherein the closure pin is displaced simultaneously into a position closing the closure opening. Since the closure pin is preferably fixedly connected to the chamber, it also retains its relative position and orientation to the chamber during assembly of the closure device so that it automatically comes into contact with the closure opening due to the position and orientation on the chamber. The fixed connection relates in particular to a connection which is fixed in the axial direction.

The opening means may cooperate with the chamber at the two concentrically formed sealing zones. In this case, there may be an interaction with the closure pin which is preferably fixedly connected to the chamber and a further cooperation with a receiving opening surrounding the closure pin on the chamber for the opening means.

Preferably, a medium that can be dispensed from the chamber, under pressure. For this purpose, during filling, a corresponding compressed gas region above a liquid level, if the medium is liquid, can be provided.

Especially in such pressurized medium, the safe, but also technically favorable controllable production seal is essential.

Due to the fact that two concentric sealing zones are formed, suitably two circumferential, more preferably cylindrical regions can be sealingly detected. In particular, it may be a cylindrical inner surface and a cylindrical outer surface of corresponding regions of the chamber which are sealed by the opening means.

It is proposed that the closure pin is formed integrally with the chamber. In particular, it is advisable to produce the chamber including the closure pin by means of a plastic injection method, so that no separate manufacturing step for connecting the closure pin to the chamber is required. Since the chamber is regularly made of a plastic, such as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE), offers an injection molding process on. Due to the one-piece design of the closure pin on the chamber, the position and orientation of the closure pin remains constant relative to the chamber, so that the closure pin reliably passes into a position closing the closure opening when connecting the chamber to the inner housing. In principle, however, it is also possible in addition to the one-piece design to arrange the closure pin in a different manner to the chamber. For example, the plug may be glued or welded to the chamber. It is essential to produce a firm connection between the chamber and the closure pin, so that the closure pin can not be separated from the chamber during use in the closure device.

Furthermore, it is proposed that the closure pin has a free-standing, insertable into the closure opening closure end. For example, the closure pin may be arranged on the chamber wall in the manner of an L-shaped web, so that the free closure end points in the direction of the closure opening of the inner housing. In the case where the chamber is cylindrical, the end portion of the plug carrying the plug end is located on the longitudinal axis of the chamber. In principle, different embodiments of the locking pin are conceivable. For example, a plurality of radially arranged webs may extend radially from the inner wall of the chamber to the longitudinal axis, wherein the webs carry the end portion having the closure end in a star shape. Advantageously, the closure pin is arranged in a partial region of the chamber, which is tapered in the manner of an outlet region with respect to the remaining region of the chamber, so that the chamber has a smaller diameter in the region of the closure pin.

In addition, the closure end advantageously has a diameter which essentially corresponds to the inner diameter of the closure opening. The outer diameter of the closure end and the inner diameter of the closure opening are correspondingly formed so that the closure end is insertable into the closure opening, optionally below Interim storage of a sealing element. The closure end is thus inserted into the closure opening in the manner of a stopper. In the alternative case that the closure end is not inserted into the closure opening, but rather closes the closure opening from the outside, a correspondingly larger diameter of the closure end than that of the closure opening is recommended.

According to the invention, the closure opening and / or the closure pin is assigned a sealing element for the fluid-tight closure of the closure opening with the closure pin. Both in the case that the closure end of the closure pin is arranged in front of the closure opening, as well as in the case that the closure end projects into the closure opening, a sealing element is recommended for the fluid-tight connection of the closure end and closure opening. The sealing element may advantageously be a sealing rubber or the like. This sealing element can be arranged either on an edge region of the inner housing delimiting the closure opening, on the closure end of the closure pin or both on the closure opening and on the closure pin.

Advantageously, the sealing element of the inner wall of the closure opening is assigned, wherein the inner wall is coated in particular with a sealing material. It is provided to introduce the closure end of the closure pin with intermediate storage of the sealing element / the coating in the closure opening. By the inside coating of the closure opening with a sealing material, a sealing element can be formed, which always maintains its position at the closure opening and thus contributes to an optimal sealing of the closure opening.

Furthermore, it is proposed that the closure opening is part of a flow channel whose length corresponds to at least five times its diameter and at most twenty times its diameter. The effluent from the chamber medium must thus flow through the flow channel to get into the container. Thus, it is achieved that the medium is not bubbled out of the chamber, but rather over a certain period of time and with a relatively fine jet. This promotes not least the better miscibility of the existing medium in the container with the effluent from the chamber medium. The closure end of the closure pin need not be introduced over the entire length of the flow channel in this, but may for example be introduced only in the region of the closure opening, for example with a length of a few millimeters in the flow channel. This facilitates the joining of the chamber to the inner housing since the closure end or the closure pin does not have to be introduced into the flow channel over a greater length, in particular not over the entire longitudinal extension of the closure pin and / or the flow channel.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1

einen Teilbereich eines Behälters mit einer daran angeordneten Verschlussvorrichtung,

Fig. 2

ein Deckelelement der Verschlussvorrichtung mit einer daran angeordneten Kammer,

Fig. 3

ein Innengehäuse der Verschlussvorrichtung,

Fig. 4

die Verschlussvorrichtung in einer Ablassstellung.

In the following the invention will be explained in more detail by means of exemplary embodiments. Show it:

Fig. 1

a portion of a container with a closure device disposed thereon,

Fig. 2

a cover element of the closure device with a chamber arranged thereon,

Fig. 3

an inner housing of the closure device,

Fig. 4

the closure device in a deflation position.

Description of the embodiments

Shown and described is a closure device 1 with a chamber 6, which has a lower opening, relative to which opening means, which allow emptying of the chamber 6 are provided. The opening means consist concretely of an opening part, which is given in a further concretization in the embodiment by a sealing element 10. This opening part has two circumferential sealing zones, namely once a sealing zone, which is preferably formed on an outer peripheral surface of the opening means, which cooperates with an inner surface of the chamber 6 and further comprises a sealing zone, which is formed opposite to the inwardly offset and in the embodiment with a Closure pin 7 cooperates. Said sealing zones are arranged in a direction perpendicular to one another, relative to the chamber 6, relative to a movement direction R of the opening means given on opening.

FIG. 1 shows an upper portion of a container 2, here a beverage bottle, at the container opening 3, a closure device 1 is arranged. The closure device 1 is located relative to the container 2 in a container opening 3 fluid-tight closing position. The closure device 1 is screwed in the usual way to the container 2, so that the container opening 3 is closed. In this state, the container 2 can be stored for a long time without the contents of the container 2 can escape. To open the container 2, the closure device 1 is unscrewed in a conventional manner from the container 2, so that the container opening 3 finally completely exposed.

The closure device 1 comprises a cover element 4, a chamber 6 arranged on the cover element 4, and an inner housing 5. In the embodiment shown-not restrictive-the cover element 4 is a plastic cover, for example made of polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE). The chamber 6 is closed by a foil element 12. This film element 12 is advantageously an aluminum foil, but may also consist of a plastic material, for example, EVOH (ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer) PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or the like. In the case that the film element 12 is made of aluminum, this is preferably coated on the facing in the direction of the chamber 6 side with a paint for the material of the chamber 6, in particular PBT. On the opposite, in the direction of the cover element 4 facing side of the film element 12, a paint is advantageously applied, which is suitable for connection to the cover element 4. The film element 12 is preferably welded to the chamber 6 or the cover element 4. Before closing the chamber 6 with the lid member 4, the opening for filling the chamber 6 is used with a medium.

Although not explicitly shown as an embodiment of the invention, the lid member 4 may for example be an aluminum lid, which is rolled onto the container 2. This is particularly advantageous when using glass containers.

The chamber 6 is connected by means of corresponding threads with the inner housing 5. The inner housing 5 is pressed into the container 2 in the region of the container opening 3 by means of a press seal. The cover element 4 and the container 2 moreover have corresponding threads, by means of which the cover element 4 is connected to the container 2.

The chamber 6 is preferably cylindrical and arranged coaxially within the inner housing 5. In the region of the inner housing 5 facing end face, the chamber has a closure pin 7, which is formed integrally with the chamber 6 (for example by means of plastic injection molding method). The closure pin 7 is L-shaped and extends - starting from the inner wall of the chamber 6 - to the longitudinal axis of the chamber 6. Furthermore, the closure pin 7 has a free-projecting closure end 9, which lies on the longitudinal axis and in the direction of one of the Inner housing 5 formed closure opening 8 shows.

The closure pin 7 can basically have different shape. For example, in addition to the individual L-shaped web shown here, a plurality of webs may be provided which extend radially from the chamber axis in the direction of the inner wall of the chamber 6 and position the closure end 9 on the chamber axis. Flow passages are formed between adjacent webs through which the medium contained in the chamber 6 can flow out of the chamber 6 in the direction of the inner housing 5.

The closure end 9 of the closure pin 7 can be inserted into the closure opening 8 of the inner housing 5. The closure opening 8 is here part of a flow channel 11, which is aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the closure device 1 and also the longitudinal axes of the chamber 6 and the inner housing 5. The flow channel 11 has a length which corresponds approximately to ten times its diameter. The flow channel 11 is formed within a formed on an end face of the cylindrical inner housing 5 channel mandrel 14, wherein the material thickness of the inner housing 5 is dome-like extended in this area to the flow channel eleventh to limit. The diameter of the closure opening 8 or of the flow channel 11 essentially corresponds to the diameter of the closure end 9, so that the closure end 9 can be sealingly introduced into the closure opening 8 or the flow channel 11. In the embodiment shown, a sealing element 10 is arranged between the closure end 9 of the closure pin 7 and the closure opening 8 or the flow channel 11, which produces a fluid-tight connection. In the illustrated closed state of the closure device 1, the closure end 9 engages with the intermediate storage of the sealing element 10 in the closure opening 8 and the flow channel 11, so that in the chamber 6 contained medium can no longer flow through the flow channel 11 into the container 2. The sealing element 10 is designed here as a rubber seal, wherein alternatively, for example, an inner coating of the closure opening 8 and the flow channel 11 may be provided with a sealing material.

In the closed state of the closure device 1 shown, the channel dome 14 protrudes over a certain axial length into a discharge port 13 of the chamber 6, whereby the closure end 9 of the closure pin 7 engages with the closure opening 8 or the flow channel 11.

FIG. 2 shows the chamber 6 in a preassembled state on the cover element 4. In this state, the chamber 6 is already closed with the film element 2. At the end region of the chamber 6 facing away from the cover element 4, the drainage neck 13 is formed, which carries the closure pin 7. The closure pin 7 extends radially from the inner wall of the discharge nozzle 13 to the longitudinal axis of the chamber 6 and from there parallel to the longitudinal axis in the direction of its closure end. 9

FIG. 3 shows the inner housing 5 of the closure device 1 in a state prior to joining with the cover member 4 and the chamber 6. At the lower end side of the inner housing 5, the channel mandrel 14 is formed, which has the closure opening 8 and the flow channel 11. The channel dome 14 is occupied on the inside of the inner housing 5 with the sealing element 10, which projects at least partially into the closure opening 8 or the flow channel 11. Here, the sealing element 10 is a rubber seal which is formed separately from the inner housing 5 and which is inserted into the inner housing 5 prior to connecting the chamber 6 to the inner housing 5 so that it covers the channel housing 14 and at least partially protrudes into the flow channel 11.

FIG. 4 shows the closure device 1 with the lid member 4, the chamber 6 and the inner housing 5, which is pushed concentrically over the chamber 6 and engages with an upper edge region in the lid member 4. Shown is the opened state of the closure device 1, in which - in contrast to the in FIG. 1 shown closed position - the chamber 6 and the inner housing 5 are spaced apart, so that the closure pin 7 is removed from the closure opening 8 and the closure end 9 is no longer engaged in the flow channel 11. In this state, the drain port 13 of the chamber 6 and the channel dome 14 of the inner housing 5 are still in engagement with each other, so that the medium contained in the chamber 6 can pass exclusively from the chamber 6 through the flow channel 11 into the container 2. The removal of the closure end 9 from the closure opening 8 is effected by a rotation of the lid member 4 with the chamber 6 arranged thereon relative to the inner housing 5, which in turn is achieved by a twisting of the closure device 1 of the container 2.

The production of the closure device 1 shown and its arrangement on the container 2, for example, so that first the inner housing 5 is prepared by the sealing element 10 is inserted into the inner housing 5, so that the channel mandrel 14 is covered with the sealing element 10. Subsequently, the chamber 6 is inserted into the inner housing 5 until the closure pin 7 protrudes into the closure opening. Then, the chamber 6 is filled, closed with the film element 12 and connected to the lid member 4. This is the closed position of the closure device 1, in which the medium contained in the chamber 6 can not escape. Subsequently, the closure device 1 can be screwed onto the container 2 in order to close the container opening 3. In this state, the medium contained in the container 2 can no longer flow out of the container 2.

In order to dispense the medium stored in the chamber 6 into the container 2, it is necessary to bring the closure device 1 into a release position. For this purpose, the closure device 1 is gripped on the cover element 4 and rotated in the usual direction of rotation counterclockwise relative to the container 2. This results in a spacing of the cover element 4 with the chamber 6 arranged thereon from the inner housing 5, which is arranged in a clamping manner in the container opening 3. Due to the axial spacing of the chamber 6 from the inner housing 5, the closure pin 7 is removed from the closure opening 8, so that the flow channel 11 is released from the chamber 6 into the container 2 for a flow of the medium. Upon further continued removal of the cover element 4 of the container 2, finally, the inner housing 5 of the container. 2 dissolved, so that the container 2 is open and the mixed medium can be removed from the container 2. List of reference numbers 1 closure device R movement direction 2 container 3 container opening 4 cover element 5 inner housing 6 chamber 7 Verschlusszapfen 8th shutter opening 9 breech end 10 sealing element 11 flow channel 12 film element 13 drain plug 14 Kanaldom

Claims (6)

1. A closure device (1) for closing a container opening (3) of a container (2), particularly a beverage bottle, wherein the closure device (1) features a lid element (4), a chamber (6) arranged on the lid element (4) and an inner housing (5), and wherein the chamber (6) and the inner housing (5) feature closing means and opening means that correspond to one another and interact with one another in such a way that a medium enclosed in the chamber (6) can escape into the container (2) due to a motion of the lid element (4) relative to the inner housing (5), wherein the closing means is a closure pin (7), characterized in that a sealing element (10) is arranged between a sealing end (9) of the closure pin (7) and the closure opening (8), and that an additional sealing element is arranged between an inner surface of a discharge nozzle (13) and an outer surface of a channel dome (14) of the inner housing (5) such that two circumferential sealing zones are formed, wherein said sealing zones are arranged concentric to one another in a direction extending perpendicular to a moving direction (R) of the opening means relative to the chamber (6) when opening.
2. The closure device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the closure pin (7) is realized integrally with the chamber (6).
3. The closure device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sealing end (9) has a diameter, which essentially corresponds to the inside diameter of the closure opening (8).
4. The closure device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sealing element (10) is assigned to the inner wall of the closure opening (8), wherein the inner wall is particularly coated with the sealing material.
5. The closure device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the closure opening (8) forms part of a flow channel (11), the length of which corresponds to at least five times its diameter and to no more than twenty times its diameter.
6. The closure device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the chamber (6) is concentrically arranged in the inner housing (5), wherein the chamber (6) can be axially displaced within the inner housing (5) by opening the closure device (1) on the container (2).

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