Closure apparatus for a drinking container

DESCRIPTION

CLOSING DEVICE FOR A DRINK CONTAINER

The invention relates to a closure device for a beverage container according to the main concept of claim 1.

There are currently many food compositions that are ingested mainly before or during a sporting activity. They are intended primarily to improve yield capacity or to make important parts of food available. Most of these food compositions consist of an aqueous drinkable solution and a solid or powder complementary food product which are mixed and ingested in a beverage container. Namely, in isotonic food compositions there are already ready-to-drink isotonic beverages in which to an aqueous solution isotonic complementary powdered products are added to the beverage bottler and can then be taken as a ready-to-drink beverage directly on site from a beverage container. Drink also provided.

Often these ready-to-drink beverages lose their flavor or effectiveness in the blended state, which means that one or more complementary food products need to be added to the drinkable solution on the spot just before ingestion. For this purpose, complementary food products are usually supplied in powder or solid form in the form of soluble tablets and mixed by hand with drinking water or mineral water, which is very impractical, especially in activities. sports or sports venues, and it is necessary to carry a separate container with drinking water, a container with complementary food products and a separate beverage container for mixing and drinking the prepared beverage.

From DE 103 41 112 A1 a container with a separate reservoir chamber is already known, through which a pre-dosed amount of a complementary food product may be added shortly before ingestion to an aqueous solution. For this purpose, there is provided a main container for receiving a first substance consisting of a seating base and around it a side liner which has an opening thereon.

For the airtight closure, a lid element with an integrated reservoir chamber is partially screwed into the opening of the container and partially screwed into the main container by an outer thread in the neck. The reservoir chamber consists of fixed inserts having a cylindrical lining and a closure cap and which are sealed below by a watertight film. Solid, powdery or gaseous complementary food products may be introduced into this reservoir chamber as a second substance. In addition to the lid element is a further pressure body which below has a cutting section which upon clamping pressure from above cuts the film thereby integrating the second substance into the first substance of the main container which can then be mixed with it, the ready-to-drink drink is obtained. Such film-separated receptor chambers or reservoirs are suitable in principle for single use only, it is very difficult to restore their tightness which makes multiple use unfavorable. But also in a single use case, it is possible that film remains may enter the beverage, making sense to transfer this mixture through a filtering process to a separate beverage container.

Other closures are known from US 2004/0007481 and WO 2006/052827.

Thus, the invention aims to create a closure device for a beverage container that allows for the short-term addition of complementary food parts to an easy-to-handle beverage product that prevents impurities from passing into the ready-made beverage. to consume.

This object is achieved by the invention indicated in claim 1. Developments and favorable examples of the invention are indicated in the subclaims.

The invention has the advantage that by means of the closure device with an integrated receiving chamber for additional food components, unstable beverage mixes can be easily prepared at any time and anywhere just before ingestion and taken immediately thereafter. from the beverage container. This can be achieved simply by an easy-to-handle shifting procedure without having to apply a great force to cut parting walls or parting films.

Such a closure device also has the advantage of being made up of only a few easy-to-manufacture parts which can be economically manufactured also as plastic injection molded parts through series production. Necessary for this are only a container bottle and the closure device and the hollow space of the closure favorably and simultaneously forms the receiving chamber for complementary food products which through an addition opening at the bottom causes during The process of displacement automatically drains into the beverage container thereby initiating the mixing process.

It is advantageous that the invention cannot damage any separate substance so that a receiving chamber of this kind can be replenished at any time after use and can therefore be reused by the user himself. Due to the movable closure and fully unscrewing the closure, its few components can be quickly disassembled into the beverage container which are then easy to clean for reuse.

In a special embodiment of the beverage container according to the invention there is also in the upper closure a closable nozzle through which the drinkable liquid can be drunk immediately after the mixing process, without any other measure, and which can be also used for replenishment with a complementary food product. These may advantageously be soluble powdery, liquid or solid complementary food products which may be dosed as desired.

The invention is explained in more detail with the aid of an exemplary embodiment shown in the drawing.

In the drawing a closure device for a beverage container is shown. 0 The locking device consists essentially of an upper locking element 1 and an axially displaceable lower cover element 2 and between them a receiving chamber 3, the lower cover element 2 being connected to one another. an actuation device 4 through which the cover element 2 can be axially displaced from the outside by an actuation element 5.

A closure device is provided for closing a beverage bottle at the neck portion and at the same time for ensuring the introduction of a complementary food product from the integrated receiving chamber 3. For this purpose, the closing device contains, between the upper closing element 1 and the lower covering element 2, the receiving chamber 3, which is essentially formed by an inner nozzle 6. This receiving chamber 3 is sealed by the upper closure element 1 and the lower cover element 2.

Coaxially around the lower nozzle 6 there is also an outer nozzle 7 which via an upper annular member 8 and a lower annular member 9 is connected to the inner nozzle 6. Between the two nozzles 6,7 there is an annular hollow space 10 within which includes the actuating device 4 for axial displacement of the lower cover element 2.

The actuation device 4 contains a travel ring 11 guided within the hollow space 10 and which preferably through four connecting bars 12 as connecting elements is connected to the lower cover element 2. Around at least one connecting bar 12 there is provided a pressure spring 13 which, in the non-actuated state, forces the displacement ring 11 axially upwards so that the lower cover element 2 is firmly seated on the lower annular element. 9 thus closing the receiving chamber 3. The lower cover element 2 is preferably designed as a flat round disk which above may also have a conical structure. For better sealing, a sealing element 14 is further fixed to the seating surface of the lower cover element 2. The sealing element 14 is preferably made from a neutral taste sealing material, for example. , in the form of a rubber sealing ring or a plastic sealing ring.

To the displacement ring 11 or at least one connecting rod 12 is attached, with clamping connection, an actuation element 5 which is guided outwards through an axial slot in the outer casing 7. 0 Actuator 5 is preferably designed as a radially folded flat displacement handle which serves for manual axial displacement of the displacement ring 11 in the hollow space 10 and through which the receiving chamber 3 may be opened into the interior space. from the beverage container. Actuation device 4 may be made as a plastic injection part which during assembly is welded or may consist of individual parts. The actuation element 5 may also be designed as a lever arm which, by means of an articulated piece, rests on the travel ring 11 and which can move it axially. But the actuating element 5 can also be designed as a radial tilting lever which through a biased slotted element is engaged with the travel ring 11, thereby axially displacing the travel ring 11 supported by a spring.

Actuating element 5 is preferably slidably guided by one or two securing ribs 15 securing actuating device 4 in one or more opening positions. For more effective mounting, the outer casing 7 can also be made into two pieces which after mounting the actuating device 4 are fitted or screwed together. All parts are preferably made of plastic which in the form of plastic injection molded parts can be manufactured easily and economically.

For connection of the closure to the beverage container, a connection ring 16 is further attached to the outer tubing 7, which preferably has an inner thread that can be screwed into the outer thread of a beverage bottle. But the connecting ring 16 could also be designed inside as a concave annular element that can fit into a convex round rim of a beverage container. In the outer casing 7 could also be molded, at least in the lower area, an outer thread which could then be screwed into an inner threaded beverage container.

To close the receiving chamber 3 in the upper area, the inner tubing 6 protrudes from the upper annular element 8 by at least 5 mm and is equipped with an outer thread 19 or an annular bar or an annular groove. The upper locking element 1 designed with the inner thread or an annular groove or an annular bar can be screwed or engaged to the outer thread 19 in order to close the air-tight receiving chamber 3. 0 upper closure element 1 is preferably cap-shaped as a round cap with a central outlet opening or a nozzle 17. Attached to the upper closure element 1 is preferably a nozzle 17 lockable through the what the contents of the drink bottle can be ingested directly. For closure, preferably a shaped closure is provided which is fitted to the nozzle 17 through a round edge.

In the non-actuated assembled state the lower cover element 2 is firmly seated on the lower annular element 9 through at least one pressure spring 13, thereby closing the pressure chamber.

<td>reception</td><td>3 in</td><td>relationship</td><td>to</td><td>inner space of the bottle</td><td>in</td>

<td>beverage,</td><td>inside</td><td>whose</td><td>if</td><td>preferably meets</td><td>one</td>

<td>liquid</td><td>drinkable</td><td>aqueous</td><td>to</td><td>which one to add</td><td> 0</td>

complementary food product provided for in the reception chamber

3 For this purpose, the complementary food product may be fed in the anticipated quantity beforehand through the upper closure element 1 open to the receiving chamber 3 and the latter may be closed again. If necessary, the actuating element 5 is then moved axially downwardly, counteracting the force of the pressure spring 13, so that the lower cover element 2 is moved axially downwardly by the actuating device 4. In this way, the lower cover element 2 opens the receiving chamber 3 through an annular slot 18 as an addition opening through which the complementary food product is added at a certain dose to the drinkable liquid and mixed therewith. With the annular slot 18 open, the mixed drinkable liquid can then be drunk through the receiving chamber 3 and the open nozzle 17. But the closure may also be made such that the sealed thin tubular nozzle 17 is guided through the lower cover element 2 into the interior space of the beverage container.

In that case, a drinking procedure with the nozzle 17 open and the receiving chamber 3 closed is also possible.