Cap with storage chamber for secondary material and product with the same

Technical field The present invention relates to a cap according to the preamble of claim 1 with an additive storage chamber and the product in which it is used, and in particular caps with an additive storage chamber to be mixed by simply opening the cap, with the main substance contained in a container connected to the cap.

Background Art [0002] In various industrial fields, it is sometimes necessary to mix two or more different substances together to prepare a mixture before using it.

[0003] For example in the beverage industry, users want to add different flavors or vitamins to water. For this purpose, the user buys a flavoring or vitamins and separate bottled water and mixes flavors or vitamins with bottled water. Nevertheless, this is very troublesome for the user.

[0004] WO 01/83313 describes a cap according to the preamble of claim 1 for storing powder and releasing it into a bottle. The cap includes an upper part of the cap and an inner part of the cap that fits partly into the upper part of the cap to form a closed powder storage cavity, and the cap is attached around the neck of the bottle. During use, the cap is turned counterclockwise so that the upper part of the cap is turned and raised relative to the inner cap element to open the cavity, releasing the powder stored in it into the bottle through the neck. The top of the cap is then further turned counterclockwise, thus releasing the cap from the bottle.

[0005] From US 3,924,741 a two-compartment container is known for separately storing two components of a product for subsequent mixing, which comprises a bottle and a cork and a capsule which is slidably mounted in a tubular cork sleeve to move between a maximum upper and lower position. In the maximum lower position, the capsule is sealed, while when the capsule is moved to its maximum upper position, the holes in the sleeve open, allowing the contents of the capsule to escape into the bottle. The upper end of the capsule is closed by a cap, which is provided with a frangible part that can be broken to provide an opening through which the contents of the container can be released.

[0006] Furthermore, WO 01/83319 A1 relates to a packaging or closure system or base for a packaging system that provides effective displacement (or "pumping") of at least some of one or more components from their separate and hermetically sealed chambers by means of movement rotating the respective chambers to connect them into one main chamber or a separate container. [0007] WO 98/29317 describes a container A for storing two components separately and then mixing them before use, which comprises a housing having an opening and a neck portion, a movable element and a closing element. The housing consists of a first compartment and a second compartment connected together in a neck portion. The movable element has a separation wall for sealing the neck portion. The movable element is constructed in such a way that the separating wall moves from a non-sealing position in which the first and second compartments are connected to each other in a sealing position in which the neck portion is sealed. The movable element can

V8740PL00 / KAP

EP 1687 208 also includes at least one channel to allow component to be introduced through the opening into the housing. The closing element seals at least one channel in the movable element and / or an opening in the housing. The movable element can be moved by twisting, pushing or pulling and it can be moved through a part located outside the housing. The seal created by the separating wall in the movable element can be deformable, i.e. it can be unsealed. The finished, dual-compartment disposable container according to some embodiments of the invention has an indelible closing element, an indeformable seal, a non-closing closing element after it has been removed, or the element is constructed in a manner or of materials that allow one-time use. The two-compartment container may also include a dispensing structure for making a predetermined quantity of mixed preparation.

Disclosure of the Invention

Technical problem [0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a cap with an additive storage chamber that is easily mixed, by simply unscrewing the cap, with the main substance contained in the container connected to the cap.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a product in which a cap with a chamber is used to store the additive.

Technical solution [0010] In order to achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a nut according to claim 1.

Description of the drawings [0011] The attached drawings, which are attached for better understanding of the invention, and which, as attached, are part of the present specification, show embodiments of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0012] In the drawings:

[0013] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the combination of the container and the cap according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of operation of the cap according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0015] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a cap connected to the container according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a cap connected to the container according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a cap connected to the container according to another embodiment of the present invention; and [0018] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a cap connected to the container according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Mode of operation of the invention [0019] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in more detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used in all drawings to indicate the same or analogous parts.

V8740PL00 / KAP

EP 1687 208 [0020] FIG. 1 shows a cap according to an embodiment of the present invention that is connected to a container.

[0021] The cap 1 includes a fastener, attached to a container such as bottle B and movable element 100, connected to the fastener 200, which, by connecting to the fastener 200, defines a closed storage chamber.

[0022] The fastening and movable elements 200 and 100 may be made of synthetic resin. However, the present invention is not limited to this case.

[0023] The fixing element 200 comprises a hollow main part having a side wall 201 connected to the container and an outlet part 208 extending upward from the side wall 201. In this embodiment, the bottle B is illustrated as a container. Thus, the sidewall 201 can be designed such that it is screwed onto the neck of the BN bottle B. However, the present invention is not limited to this case. The sidewall 201 may be connected to other types of containers, such as flexible bag-type containers, by another means of connection. The fastener 200 also includes a support tube 203 extending from the inner surface of the side wall 201, the support tube 203 being provided with a substance removal portion 204, a sealing portion 202 formed at the bottom of the support portion 203, and an outlet portion 208 extending upwards from side wall 201 to connect to the substance removal portion 204. The fastener 200 may also include a sealing tab 209 formed on the inner surface of the side wall 201 to form a seal by tightly adhering to the inner surface of the BN neck of the bottle B. The tamper element 210 may be formed at the bottom end of the side wall 201.

[0024] The movable element 100 is designed to be connected around the attachment element 200.

[0025] The movable element 100 comprises a main portion having a top wall 101 and a side wall 102 extending from the top wall 101 and connected around the outlet portion 208 in the fastener 200, and a tube 103 extending downwardly from the bottom of the top wall 101, the tube 103 defines a storage chamber 104 and has an open bottom through which additive can be delivered to the storage chamber 104. The additive may be a powder, liquid concentrate, granulate or other chemical that will be mixed with the main substance contained in the container. The top wall 101 is preferably connected to the side wall 102 by means of the flexible part 106. The sealing tab extends downwardly from the bottom of the flexible part 106 to ensure tight contact with the inner surface of the outlet part 208 in the fastener 200. At the bottom end of the sidewall 102 of the movable element 100, a tamper-proof element 107 can be formed.

[0026] In a situation where the storage chamber 104 is filled with the additive C, the movable element 100 is connected to the fixing element 200, so that the open bottom of the tube 103 can be sealed by means of a sealing element 202 formed at the bottom of the support tube 203 in the element 200, thereby sealing the storage chamber 104.

[0027] In the drawing, the sidewall 102 in the movable member 100 is threadedly connected to the outer circumference of the outlet portion 208. However, the present invention is not limited to this case. For example, the movable element 100 may be forced into the fastener.

[0028] The mixing pin 215 extends upwardly from the sealing element 202 so that the additive C can be removed more efficiently from the tube by mixing the additive C when the movable element 100 is unscrewed from the fixing element 200. Preferably, the mixing pin 215 is 3

V8740PL00 / KAP

EP 1687 208 formed on the eccentric part of the sealing element 202 so that it rotates around when the movable element 100 is unscrewed from the fixing element.

[0029] The operation of the cap described above will be described in more detail below.

[0030] First, the secondary material C is introduced into the storage chamber 104 defined by the tube 103 in the movable element 100. Then the attachment element 200 is mounted to the movable element 100 so that the bottom of the tube 103 can be tightly connected to the sealing element 202 to hermetically seal the substance additional C in the storage chamber 104.

[0031] In this condition, the fastening element 200 is attached to the container (bottles B). That is, as shown, the side wall 201 of the attachment member 200 is screwed onto the neck BN of the bottle B to provide a seal between the neck BN and the inner surface of the side wall 201. This condition is shown in FIG. 1.

[0032] In this condition, when the movable element 100 is unscrewed from the fastening element 200 (i.e., from the outlet part 208 of the main part) as shown in FIG. 2, the bottom of the tube 103 of the movable element 100 is released from the sealing element 202 formed at the bottom of the support tube 203. At this point, since the seal between the tube 103 and the support tube 203 is removed, the additive contained in the storage container 104 by the tube 103 is released into bottle B and mixed with a main substance such as drink, including water. Then, when the mobile element 100 is completely removed from the fastener 200, the user can use or drink the mixture through the outlet portion 208 in the fastener 200. This condition is shown in FIG. 3. Alternatively, the user may use or drink the mixture through the BN neck of the B bottle after removing the fastener 200 from the BN neck.

[0033] FIG. 4 shows a nut according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] The nut in this embodiment is substantially identical except for the following features.

[0035] In this embodiment, the tube 303 is separated from the movable element 100. That is, the tube 303 is equipped with an open upper part with an inner peripheral projection 304, and a hooked projection 107 is formed on the upper wall of the movable element 100. Thus, an open the upper portion of the tube 303 is applied around the hooked tab 107 so that the hooked tab 107 and the inner peripheral tab 304 are tightly connected.

[0036] The inner peripheral tab 108 is formed on the inner surface of the attachment member 200 to adhere tightly to the outer surface of the tube 303. Thus, when the movable member 100 is unscrewed from the attachment member 200 and opened to a certain level to release additive into the container, the user can shake bottle B to mix the additive effectively with the main substance in bottle B. This means that in this case the mixture does not leak from the bottle even if the user shakes the bottle B because the inner peripheral tab 108 adheres closely to the tube 303.

[0037] The tube 303 is further equipped at the bottom with an inner peripheral tab 305. When the movable member 100 is unscrewed from the fastener 200, the movable member 100 and the tube 300 slide upward until the inner peripheral tab 305 engages with the inner peripheral tab 108 . In this condition, the tube 300 no longer moves upward, and the hooked tab 107 in the movable member 100 and the inner peripheral tab 304 are mutually disconnected, whereby the movable member 100 is removed from the fastener 200 and the tube 303. In this state, the user can it is easy to drink the mixture using the 303 tube as a straw through which it can extract the mixture.

V8740PL00 / KAP

EP 1687 208 [0038] FIG. 5 illustrates a nut according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] The nut in this embodiment is identical to the first embodiment except for the following features.

[0040] In this embodiment, the sealing reinforcement element is further provided. A silicone O-ring seal can be used as a seal strengthening element. A sealing reinforcement element can be placed at the bottom of the support tube 203 between the support tube 203 and the sealing element 202. When the movable element 100 is placed on the fixing element 200, the bottom of the tube 103 adheres closely to the seal reinforcing element to ensure a solid seal condition.

[0041] FIG. 6 shows a nut according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] This embodiment is identical to the first embodiment except for the following features.

In this embodiment, the sealing element is separated from the support tube 203. That is, the sealing element is specially prepared and permanently attached to the bottom of the support tube 203.

[0044] It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be used in the present invention. Thus, the present inventors intend to include modifications and variations of the present invention insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims.