FR2540466A1 - ANTI-FRAUD CLOSURE DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS, CONTAINERS EQUIPPED WITH SUCH DEVICES AND METHOD FOR PACKAGING PRODUCTS IN THESE CONTAINERS - Google Patents

Abstract

WE DESCRIBE ANTI-FRAUD CLOSING DEVICES FOR CONTAINERS, AS WELL AS CONTAINERS EQUIPPED WITH SUCH DEVICES, THESE INCLUDING A THERMOPLASTIC CAPSULE ADAPTING TO THE CONTAINER MOUTH, A RING FOR ROTATION WELDING AT THE BASE A DETACHABLE SECTION CONNECTING THE RING AND THE CAPSULE. A METHOD IS ALSO DESCRIBED FOR PACKING CONSUMER PRODUCTS IN THE ANTI-FRAUD PACKAGING DESCRIBED ABOVE, THIS METHOD INCLUDING IN PARTICULAR WELDING BY FRICTION OF THE DETACHABLE PROTECTIVE CAPSULE, ON THE WELDING SURFACE SURFACE SURFACE OF THE CONTAINER.

Description

1 - The present invention relates to anti-lock devices

  In particular, the present invention relates to detachable capsules used for food containers

or pharmaceutical.

  The present invention also relates to

  containers fitted with such anti-tamper devices

  fraud, as well as a method of packaging products

in these containers.

  Containers of pharmaceutical products

  generally, as a closure device, a capsule that opens directly, or even a capsule

  commonly referred to as "child-resistant"

  provide easy access to the products contained in the container, but do not offer any protection against the fraud of these, either during transport or when they are displayed on a display.

  time, the number of cases of pharmaceutical product fraud

  exposed drugs has been very high, which has

  leads the authorities to impose rules for the use of

  anti-fraud packaging for medicines.

  Conventional containers with anti-fraud closure devices are known; such containers

  comprise capsules formed in a metal foil

  that, these capsules being folded and sealed on the upper part of the container The process is expensive and very long because of the many steps required to bend

  and seal the closure device on the upper part

  In addition, when the lid of the container is removed, it is destroyed, which considerably limits the life of the product contained in the container. Other anti-fraud closure devices are also known, for example those consisting of capsules which must be glued or fusion-bonded to the neck of the container so as to

  to prevent the fraud of the products contained in it.

  The present invention aims to remedy

  various disadvantages mentioned above.

  The subject of the present invention is a device

  anti-tamper closure for containers.

  Another subject of the present invention is a method for placing this arrangement rapidly and efficiently.

  closing device on the container.

  The anti-fraud closure device of the invention

  The invention, which may be sealed to a plastic container having a neck with opening and an outer annular shoulder for friction welding, is characterized in that it comprises: a capsule fitting on the opening of the neck ; a ring for rotational welding at the base of this capsule, this ring being made of a material which can be friction welded to this shoulder, and a detachable section connecting the ring for welding to

the capsule.

  The present invention also relates to a method for packaging products in containers with anti-fraud closure devices, which method comprises forming a friction welding surface on the top of a container and surrounding the neck thereof. ;

  have a closure device on the container

  a device comprising a flange for friction welding at the bottom, and a capsule at its upper part, and a detachable peripheral portion separating the capsule from the flange; filling the container with the desired amount of a predetermined product, and frictionally welding the flange to the welding surface. The present invention is described by way of the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows an elevational view of a container made according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figures 2 and 5 represent views -3-

  partial cross sections of two different closure systems.

  used with the first mode of execution; Figure 3 shows a partial sectional view of the closure device showing that it has been removed and replaced; Figure 4 is a plan view of the top of the container of Figure 1; Figures 6 and 7 show plan views of the top of the container when making cuts along lines 6-6 and 7-7 shown in Figures and 2 respectively; Figure 8 shows an elevational view of a container of the invention manufactured according to another embodiment; Fig. 9 is a partial elevational sectional view of a portion of the closure device shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a plan view of the top of the container shown in Fig. 8; Figure 11 shows a partial elevational view of the container of Figure 8, after the tamper closure has been broken; Figure 12 shows an elevational view

  a container manufactured in accordance with yet another method of

  execution; Fig. 13 is a partial elevational view of the container depicted in Fig. 12 when the anti-tamper closure has been removed; Figure 14 shows a partial view of

  lifting of the container to which the

  closing device; Figure 15 shows a plan view of the top

the container of Figure 12; -

  Figure 16 is an elevational view of a container made according to yet another embodiment; Figure 17 shows a closure cap that can be used on the container depicted in Figure 16; _ 4 -

  FIG. 18 shows the container after removing

  the anti-fraud closure device; Fig. 19 is a plan view of the top of the container depicted in Fig. 18; Figure 20 is an elevational view

  a container manufactured in accordance with a fifth mode of

  tion; Figure 21 is a partial elevational view of the container of Figure 20 after the capsule has been removed; Figure 22 is a partial view of

  lifting of the container to which the

closure;

  Figure 23 shows a plan view of the

Figure 20.

  The invention relates to containers and closures

  tures which are designed to form a sealed connection by fusion between the container and the closure device. This closure device generally comprises a tear-off strip enabling the majority of the closure device to be separated and the part

  of the capsule melted on the container.

  Figure 1 illustrates a first embodiment of ivention, o container 10 made of a material

  thermoplastic such as polystyrene, polypropylene, poly-

  ethylene, vinyl chloride polymer, polyethylene terephthalate or other acceptable thermoplastic material, comprises a closure by capsule 11 This capsule comprises a main closure part 12 and an anti-fraud ring 13 The assembly 11 is made of a material similar to or In addition, the assembly It is preferably in one part It can be injection molded, blown or any other conventional technique, from a thermoplastic material

melted or in foil.

  Figure 2 shows more clearly the capsule 11, with its main portion 12 which fits downwardly to a peripheral outer shoulder 14, wedge-shaped, at the upper end of the neck 15 of the container The wedge shoulder 14 preferably has a top surface 16 and a bottom surface 17 for wedging. The shoulder 14 surrounds substantially all the neck of the container, except for a small opening 18 shown in FIG. the main part 12 of the capsule comprises a wedge 19, formed on the inner wall of the capsule 11 and externally marked by a small triangle 20 This lug 19 is preferably smaller than the opening 18 in the shoulder When the capsule 12 is fixed on the container 10, the wedge is located under the wedging shoulder 14, except where the arrow or the small triangle 20 is in alignment with the opening 18 , which raises the e relative to the shoulder 14 The assembly 12 also comprises an anti-fraud ring 13 forming an integral part with the main part 11 and separated from the latter by a thin groove 21 This groove can be formed during the thermoforming of the capsule 11 or The detachable ring 13 extends downwards from the capsule 12 and comes into contact with a conventional scratching or deburring machine.

  with the fusion shoulder 22 This peripheral shoulder

  has a bow-shaped surface 23 and a thin

  contact periphery 24 at its outer edge

  the shoulder 22 are such that it fits,

  with slight interference, to the anti-fraud ring 13.

  Therefore, the anti-fraud device 11

  comprises a main capsule 12 and a detachable ring

  13 separated by the groove 21 The neck of the container

  10 has a first upper shoulder 14, extending

  outward, and having an eccentric surface beyond

  above and a wedging surface below A release opening 18 allows to release the wedge 19 formed in the main capsule 12 The manufacturer of

  product, to use the container, receives this recipe

  10, wherein it introduces the product It then places the capsule 11 on the container, so that the only contact between this capsule and the container is the thin end 24 of the shoulder 22 is then rotated the cover at a predetermined speed to create frictional heat between the shoulder 22 and the ring 13 After a predetermined time, the rotation is stopped and the inertia of the rotation components is

  the only energy imparted to the capsule 11 When the material

  thermoplastic hot ring 13 and shoulder 22 cools, the rotational energy of the mandrel and the

  capsule h is quickly absorbed and rotation stops.

  The mandrel is removed and the capsule is sealed on the

bottle at the shoulder 22.

  The detachable ring 13 comprises a tab 25, which is a smaller or pre-cut section of the ring and which deviates radially from this ring. The end user of the container can grasp this tab and detach the ring 13 from the ring. the capsule 12 Although the contact surface 24 between the shoulder 22 and the ring 13 is small, the user can easily detach the ring which is friction welded on the shoulder 22 when the ring 13 is removed and that the capsule 12 is no longer welded to the container 10, this container has the appearance shown in Figure 3 This aspect shows the user that the absence of ring 13 means that the container was opened Due to this absence Bare ring 22 is exposed to the view Preferably, a printed legend may be used on or near this ring 22 to indicate that, if the legend is visible, the container has already been opened. FIG. from the top, in section along line 7-7 of Figure 2, and it shows the capsule 12, the locking shoulder 19 and the wall of the

container 10.

  Figure 4 is a top view of the capsule, showing the alignment of the arrow 20 and the opening 18 of the shoulder 14 This alignment is indicated by the

arrow 27.

  FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a modified embodiment of FIG. 1, the friction welding peripheral shoulder 22 having been replaced by a number of generally friction lugs 32. The lugs are formed on the the neck of the container 10 and project outwards to adapt by interference

  inside the friction welding ring 13.

  The knife edge 24 of the shoulder 22 has been replaced by a relatively flat or partially cylindrical outer surface formed at the outer periphery of each shoulder 32. The curvature of the cylindrical outer surface of the shoulders 22 should correspond closely.

  to the curvature of the cylindrical inner surface of the

  With this embodiment, the opening of the container is carried out in the same way: the lug 25 is lifted and the ring 13 is detached from the capsule 12 along the groove 21. The spacing between the lugs 22 allows

  exert a leverage force on the ring

  chable 13, to remove this ring and allow to remove the capsule 12 When the user can determine that the ring adheres to the shoulder 22 and the capsule 12 remains attached to the ring 13 to the groove 21, it can

  be assured that the container has not been opened.

  Figures 8 to 11 illustrate a second mode of

  According to the invention, a protective capsule is used to protect the bottle's normal opening and closing capsule. In this case, a bottle similar to the bottle of FIG. 1 comprises a neck 41 with an opening. closure device 43 comprises an alignment device 44 and an internal locking lug (not shown) similar to the lug 14 of FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the anti-tamper device consists of a sealed protective capsule 45.

to the bottle 40.

  This protective capsule 45 has a main section

  the 46 with detachable strip 47 having a broken surface 48 and a tab 49 The strip 47 is delimited by

  relative to the capsule 45, by a peripheral groove 50.

  It is preferred that the capsule be produced by an appropriate thermoforming technique, such as injection molding or blow molding, so that the strip 47 is formed with the capsule. FIG. 9 shows the attachment of the capsule 45 to the container. In this Figure, which is a partial view of the capsule 45 in section, it can be seen that the detachable strip 47 descends down to its contact with the side wall of the container 40.

  better to have a fit with interference at this point.

  The main section 46 is designed so that there is a clearance G between the upper part of the capsule of

  closure 43 and the upper part of the protective capsule

this 45.

  The empty containers 40 are placed in the filling line. The capsules 45, which are collapsible, are separated.

  from each other near the filling line and advancing

  100 along this line near the receptacles 40.

  The pharmaceutical or food product is introduced into the containers, then they pass to the closing line

  the closure capsules 43 are placed on the neck,

  in order to form the containers The protective capsule is then engaged in a mandrel for welding by

  rotation and this chuck is rotated at a speed

  determined, for example 1000 to 3000 rpm As soon as the mandrel reaches this speed, it is lowered, to bring the protective capsule 45 on the container 40 until the detachable strip 47 comes into contact with the container 40 Immediately before the contact between

  this strip 47 and the wall of the container, the application

  The mandrel is then rotated a few millimeters, bringing the web 47 into contact with the container 40. The rotational energy of the capsule and the mandrel, plus friction between both parts of thermoplastic material, produce the fusion of the capsule on the container 40 by friction welding In this way, the strip 47 is sealed to the shoulder of the container can not remove the contents of the container without -9- tear 47 When this band is detached, the protective cap can move freely from the container and the latter then appears as shown in Figure 11 Any buyer of product, realizing that the protective cap is no longer attached to the container, will be aware of the fraud On the top surface of the closure cap, shown in Figure 10, one can print a text, such as "Do not accept if the

  protective cap is not attached to the container ".

  Figures 12 to 15 illustrate a third embodiment of anti-tamper closure for container of thermoplastic material According to this embodiment, a container 51 with neck 52 and opening 53 is closed by a closure assembly 54 Figure 14 shows the neck 52 with locking shoulder 55, having an opening 56 corresponding to a locking lug (not shown) formed inside in the upper section 57 of the closure assembly 54 A shoulder 58, at the periphery of the neck 52 and directly below the shoulder 55, serves as support for the upper section 57 Below this shoulder 58 is another shoulder 59, at the periphery of the neck 52, and it serves

  shoulder during rotary welding.

  Figure 12 shows the closure assembly 54, with the upper main capsule 57 to which is attached a detachable ring 60 and a ring 61 for rotational welding The structure of the capsule 57 is similar

  to that of the capsules described for the two modes of

  A locking pin is located inside the

  The closure assembly 54 is preferably formed of a single piece of plastics material, by injection molding or by thermoforming. The main capsule 57 is separated from the capsule 57 to engage with the ring 55 on the neck 52. the detachable strip 40 by a thin groove 62 Similarly, the ring 61 of rotation welding 61 is separated from the detachable ring 60 by a

groove 63.

  The pharmaceutical or food product is introduced

  The closure assembly 54, held in a rotational welding mandrel, is brought to a predetermined speed of the order of 1000 to 10,000 rpm. The mandrel is lowered onto the container 51 and, immediately before contact, stop applying

  the rotational force on the mandrel, which continues to

  freely The kinetic energy of the mandrel and the vertex

  is then absorbed when the welding ring 61 engages

  Preferably, this shoulder has a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the ring 61 to improve the friction welding. When the mandrel lowers the cap 54 on the neck 52, the welding ring 61 engages on the shoulder 59 The rotational energy of the capsule and the mandrel is then absorbed by friction,

  o fusion of the capsule on the container.

  Therefore, to access the content of the

  container, remove the detachable ring 60 from the

  seems to closure 54 to separate the capsule 57 from the

  Neau 61 which is sealed to the neck 52 through the shoulder 59 For this purpose, the band 60 has a tab 64 and a section 65 of least resistance or groove, which allows to detach it more easily

  around grooves 62 and 63 Therefore, the use of

  The driver must lift the tab 64 to detach the band 60 from the closure assembly and to separate the closure cap 57 from the ring 61 after removal of the band.

  , the container has the appearance shown in Figure 13.

  If we refer to Figures 13 and 15, we see

  how can a cosmator be aware of a fraud.

  Figure 15 is a top view of the capsule 57, which may include a caption such as "Do not accept if the center strip is removed." As an alternative, already mentioned above, the shoulder 58 becomes visible only after removal. It may be advantageous to have the container 51 made of a thermoplastic material of a certain color and the shoulder 58 made of a thermoplastic material of another contrasting color. For example, the container 51 and the neck 52 may be in it - white polystyrene The closure assembly 54 may be of a white thermoplastic material, such as polystyrene or polypropylene On the other hand, the shoulder should be red or blue In case of red color, the legend on the top of the capsule 57 shown in Figure 15 could be "Not to accept if the shoulder

  red is visible below the capsule ".

  FIGS. 16 to 19 illustrate a fourth embodiment. FIG. 16 shows a container 70 with a protective capsule 71 (shown in FIG. 17). This capsule comprises an upper capsule 77 and a detachable lower edge or strip 78 forming an integral part with the upper cap 77 The edge or band 78 is separated from the cap 77 by a notched groove 76 forming a detachable connection between the band 78 and the cap 77 The attachment of the cap 71 to the container 70 is similar to the method of fixing the second Embodiment described with reference to Figures 8 to 11, except for edge 78 which replaces the detachable strip. Closing assembly 71 comprises a protective cap 77 and a friction welding shoulder 78. The internal diameter of the shoulder 78 is designed to fit on the upper shoulder of the container 70 This container has a closure cap 72. The product is introduced into the empty container 70 and the closure cap 72 is placed so as to have a tight seal. The container provided with the cap will be placed under a rotational welding mandrel containing the protective cap 71, which is rotatively welded to the container 70 with the shoulder. 78 who

  is melted on the upper shoulder 75 of the container 70.

  Therefore, the container is sealed by an anti-fraud device The end user must remove the protective cap to gain access to the contained product

  in the container 70 He achieves this by keeping the recipe

  sew 70 in one hand and take the protective cap

  this 77 in the other hand, then rotating to separate the protective cap 77 from the welded band 78 along the groove 76 After removing the cap 77, the container has the appearance shown in FIG. upper part of the capsule 72 may comprise a

  legend such as "Not to be accepted if the capsule

  is not fixed or is missing ", which indicates

  to the consumer that the container has been opened

  is lying. According to an alternative, already described above, the shoulder 74 of the container 70 may have a color,

  which contrasts with that of the other components of the

  On the other hand, the protective capsule may also have, at its upper part, a legend, such as "A

turn to remove the capsule ".

  Figures 20 to 23 illustrate a fifth embodiment of the invention, similar to those described above. From Figure 20, a closure assembly 81 is melt-bonded, but removably, to the container 80. This set 81 includes a capsule

  protective 82 with shoulder 83 friction welding.

  The container 80 has an annular closing shoulder 84 and a bearing shoulder 85 at the periphery

  of the neck A shoulder 86 of friction welding encir-

  The protective cap 82 is separated from the friction welding shoulder 83 by a groove or a surface 87 of least resistance 85 and the neck extends below the bearing shoulder 85 and extends radially more than this shoulder 85. Closure cap 88, similar

  to those previously described, is sealed on the container-

  The assembly 81 is attached to the container 80 by welding

  by rotating the band 83 on the shoulder 86.

  To access the closure cap 88 and the product contained in the container, the protective cap 82 must be removed. For this purpose, the capsule 82 is rotated to detach from the groove 87 and to separate from the shoulder 83. 23 represents a view from above, the protective cap with the caption "Rotate to detach" Figure 21 shows the 13 - container 80 after removal of the protective cap 82 The top of the closure cap 88 may also include a legend indicating that there has been fraud if the protective cap is no longer attached to the container In addition, the shoulder 85 may be in one color

  which contrasts with that of the other parties.

  The examples of execution described above are given by way of illustration and are in no way limiting. Modifications and variants

  can be made without departing from the framework of

  Thus, the containers can be made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, vinyl chloride polymers, polyethylene terephthalate, their copolymers or other suitable thermoplastic material.

  for the manufacture of containers On the other hand,

  barrier resins, such as ethylene

  vinyl alcohol, vinyl alcohol polymers, vinylidene chloride polymers, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymers can be used in place of or in addition to the polymers mentioned above. In addition, the invention has been described with the use of rotary welding as welding technique of the different parts, but it is obvious that containers and closure devices, with a non-cylindrical section, can be welded by friction, by

  example by oscillation, instead of rotational welding.

-14 -

Claims (20)

claims:   An anti-fraud closure device which can be sealed to a plastic container having a neck with an opening and an annular external shoulder for friction welding, which device is characterized in that it comprises: a capsule; fitting on the opening of the neck; a ring for rotational welding at the base of this capsule, this ring being made of a material that can be friction welded to this shoulder; and a detachable section connecting the solder ring to the capsule. 2 Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the capsule and the ring are integrally formed in the same thermoplastic material.   3 Device according to any one of the claims   2, characterized in that the detachable section consists   in a thin line of rupture in the plastic material.   4 Device according to any one of the claims   1 and 2, characterized in that the detachable section consists of a detachable strip formed by two thin lines of   rupture, parallel, close to each other.   Device according to any one of the claims   1 to 4, characterized in that the capsule engages hermetically on the neck of the container and the ring is frictionally welded to the neck, being adapted to be detached from this neck and this capsule to allow the removal of this capsule.   Device according to one of the claims   1 to 4, characterized in that the capsule is a protective capsule covering, without contact with it, a closure cap of the neck, the welding ring being formed at the base of this protective capsule, with a detachable section connecting the capsule protector and the ring, the latter being adapted to be detached simultaneously   of the protective capsule and the container.   7 Method for packing consumer products   in an anti-fraud package, this method being -   as it consists of -   forming a friction welding surface on the top of a container surrounding the neck thereof; providing a closure cap for the container, the cap having a lower flange for friction welding and a cap at its upper portion, the peripheral portion separating the cap from the flange being detachable; fill the container with a desired quantity of a particular product; frictionally weld the rim of the cap on the welding surface.   8 Method according to claim 7, characterized in that   that friction welding is a rotational welding.   Method according to claim 7, characterized in that the friction welding is oscillation welding.   Method according to any one of the claims   7 to 9, characterized in that the tear-off portion of the closure cap comprises a single thin groove   in the thermoplastic plug.   11 Method according to any one of the claims   7 to 9, characterized in that the detachable part of the closure cap comprises a band delimited by at least two parallel thin grooves incised in the   plug of thermoplastic material.   12 Method for packing consumer products   in a thermoplastic anti-fraud bottle, ridiculous in that it consists of   form on this bottle, a thermal shoulder   plastic projecting radially outwards, for   allow the friction welding of a thermoplastic plug   tick on this shoulder; forming a protective thermoplastic plug having an upper portion and a lower ring for welding, both of which portions are separated by a detachable device; 16 -   fill the bottle with a predetermined amount   mined the desired product; friction welding the welding ring on the shoulder of the bottle characterized in that 13 Method according to claim 1 / q 3 itisonsonsons place an internal closure cap on the bottle   immediately after filling it.   Method according to claim 13, characterized in that the friction welding is rotational welding and that the detachable part of the closure plug comprises at least one thin groove incised in the thermoplastic plug.   Method according to any one of the claims   12 to 14 characterized in that the shoulder is placed   on the bottle below his neck.   Method according to any of the claims   12 to 14 characterized in that the shoulder is placed   of the bottle on the neck of it.   17 Container with anti-lock device   fraud as described in any of the claims 1 to 6.