Untitled record

Lumpy filling goods, usually filled with sheets added, can only be removed with difficulty without tools after opening a can equipped with a tear-off lid if the can cannot be turned over.

(Example: cucumber can with one-piece filling).

There are known designs of containers in which the release movement of the filling material is achieved by buoyancy of a floating body or spring force acting on a plate (US Pat. No. 5,868,266).

In order to be able to close the lid, however, the buoyancy or the spring force must be overcome, which rules out the use of fast-moving locking systems.

A system according to DE 20004529 U1 is also known, which likewise requires a cover to be put on against a permanently acting spring force in the axial direction.

Also known is a • cigarette dispenser according to laid-open specification 2015044, • lipstick case according to US 1,976,252, • lollipop packaging according to US 6,136,352, • cigarette packaging according to UK 436,901.

What all these systems have in common is that the spring force for lifting the product is already effective during filling and initial closure and must therefore be overcome when the lid is closed.

For conventional high-performance sealing by means of a round folding process, such as on food packaging, which must produce a hermetic seal, this is a considerable disadvantage due to the low achievable performance and uncertainty of the sealing quality.

The present invention avoids these disadvantages by using a spring insert which only releases the lifting force at a later point in time, which can be influenced by the selection of the adhesive.

The present invention describes the use of a spring insert in a one-piece or multi-piece design, which consists of permanently elastic material suitable for food contact, preferably plastic.

The diameter of the spring insert with its spring insert upper part is designed in such a way that it can slide up and down in the can body, but cannot move beyond the ring-shaped projection of the remaining tear-off lid ring, so it cannot fall out when the can is emptied.

To enable industrial filling, the spring insert is “blocked” and thus pre-fixed into the empty can, usually before or during its filling, but in any case before the can is closed by the filler and before any sheet infusion.

The introduction of the spring insert is preferably carried out in the still empty can, namely automatically by known automatic assembly machines.

According to claim 2, the spring force is only developed after the fixation has been removed by dissolving 40 the adhesive material, which consists, for example, of a material similar to starch.

According to claim 3, it is also conceivable to initiate the development of the spring force by activating the shape memory effect of plastics by means of suitable mechanical, chemical, thermal or radiation measures.

In order to adapt the size tolerances of the filling material, the upper part of the spring insert is equipped with a central opening with lamellae facing the center, which allow a certain compensation by deflection in the direction of the can axis.

A sieve-like design of the spring insert upper part with openings results in isolation of, for example, spice ingredients from the rest of the filling material, whereby the infusion still remains in constant contact with the spices, but the filling material remains free of adhering spice particles when it is removed.

In order to increase the spring effect, according to claim 6, those plastics are also preferably conceivable for the spring insert which cause an increase in the modulus of elasticity due to the heat treatment occurring during the preservation.

List of the figures

AT 412 641 Β

FIG. 1 shows a section of a container according to the invention with a compressed spring element, with the spring elements still fixed.

FIG. 2 corresponds to a sectional view of a container according to the invention with a detached spring element, with a lid and sheet infusion that has already been closed.

FIG. 3 shows a container that has already been closed after the lid has been removed.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment according to the invention of the upper part of the spring insert for better adaptation to the size tolerances of lumpy filling goods.

FIG. 5 shows an open container for stick-like filling goods after the lid has been removed.

The individual figures are described in more detail below:

FIGURE 1

This represents a sectional view through a can according to the invention, consisting of a spring insert (4) in the "on block" run state, provided with an adhesive layer (10).

Furthermore, part (1) represents the can body, part (2) the can bottom connected by a fold, part (8) the in this case one-piece filling material which is to be lifted when the can is opened, part (7) sieve-like openings in the upper part of the spring insert ( 4A), part (4B) the spring element designed as a bellows and part (11) small-sized secondary filling goods, e.g. B. Spices.

The illustration according to FIG. 1 relates to the filling time of the empty can before the brine is poured on and before the lid is closed, when the spring insert is still in a blocked state, which is ensured, for example, by the adhesive layer that has not yet dissolved or the memory effect of the spring insert material that has not yet been activated will.

FIGURE 2

This represents a filled pack according to the invention after the blockage on the spring element (4B) has been resolved. Part (9) represents the sheet filling of the can and part (3) represents the crimped and tear-open can lid.

In this state, the one-piece filling material is already in contact with the inside of the can lid and is pressed against it by the spring force released by the spring element (4).

FIGURE 3

This represents a packaging according to the invention in the state of use with the lid (3) already removed and the ring edge (3A) of the tear-open lid still standing. Due to the full effectiveness of the spring action of the spring element (4B) when the lid is removed, the one or more-piece filling material emerges from the opening of the can and can be easily removed.

A preferred embodiment of the spring insert upper part (4A) is represented by the elastic lamellae (6) which, when the preferably one-piece filling material is inserted, allow the spring insert upper part to be adapted to the shape and size of the lumpy filling material (see also FIG. 4 as a top view of part (4A)) ).

FIGURE 5

Figure 5 shows a further preferred embodiment of the packaging according to the invention, in which the use of multi-piece filling material (8) is shown and in which the remaining ring (3A) of the opened tear-off lid remains behind the narrowed contour (1B) of the can cylinder, on the one hand not to hinder the upward movement of the multi-piece filling material and, on the other hand, to prevent the risk of injury to the empty can. A fuselage bead (1B) is preferably used to ensure this and to prevent the spring insert from falling out.

In this case, the filling and the sealing must take place at the bottom.