Cap of type cuttint light metal

(54) Name: Capsule of light metal

(56) Published publications: SE 7406245-6 (381 237, int at B65D 41/44)

7612795-0

Γ

The present invention relates to a constructive improvement of hand-worn bottle caps made of light metal sheet, beer, carbonated beverages and. other liquids have so far been packaged in bottles or other small containers, which are sealed with crown caps. Such crown caps have the disadvantage that their removal requires a tool. In recent years, there has been a tendency to replace crown caps with caps that can be removed by hand, eliminating the need for a tool for opening. Such a type of a manually removable cap is formed with a wear-and-tear strip which can be torn off by a pull action so that the cap can be destroyed and removed by hand. These types of hand-worn capsules have become widely accepted.

However, it has been found that previously known, hand-worn bottle caps are difficult to remove without spilling the contents of the bottle if the user holds the bottle in his hand while removing the cap. This is due to the fact that stronger pulling must be exerted as the wear propagates over the top of the capsule. Thus, when the bottle is held in one hand and the wear of the cap is carried out with the other hand, the additional traction required for

7612795-0

C.

to completely remove the cap, do not apply evenly so that it becomes difficult to hold the bottle firmly and the contents can be spilled or washed out.

One way, to solve this problem, is to design the cap so that the grooves that form fracture guide lines break more easily. However, in the design of a wearable strip with improved ease of wear many factors must be taken into account. The depth and shape of the grooves are largely determined by the container pressure that the cap has to withstand. A further factor is the shape of the wear area bounded by the notches. In this regard, it has been found desirable that the notches in the upper, disc-shaped portion of the capsule have an arc-like shape and are located at. the outer periphery of this disc.

In the past, it has been generally customary to cover the grooves with a gasket when designing hand-worn caps. This has been designed to prevent the contents of the container from coming into contact with the area around the notches. In most cases, the gasket type is sprayed, which adheres to the inner surface of the cap, which is provided. notches, When the cap is removed, it is not only necessary to tear the cap along the notches, but it is also necessary to tear the packing material apart. The use of gasket materials for high temperatures, which is required at. commonly used sterilization processes for foods, in addition, have high resistance to disintegration, which further complicates the problem of attrition.

The force necessary to tear apart the thin metal layer remaining at the bottom of the notches to remove a cap according to the invention from a bottle is minimal. In addition, the particular cut pattern described below offers the advantage that the bulk of the top, disc-shaped portion of the cap can be lifted upwardly from the underlying bottle mouth as the cap is worn, leaving only a very narrow, enclosing portion of the cap flange, which portion can be easily detached from the bottle when the end of the wear process is reached.

A principal object of the present invention is therefore to provide an improved, wear-resistant, lightweight metal closure for containers, which can be easily removed by hand.

Yet another intention is to provide a wearable metal bottle cap, which exhibits an improved notch pattern, which significantly reduces the traction required to tear the cap off and remove it from the underlying edge of the bottle mouth.

A further object is to provide a groove,

7612795-0 removable metal cap, the removal of which is facilitated by the need to tear the packing of the cap.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cap according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the cap; Fig. 5 is a section along line 3 3 in Fig. 2 seen in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the relationship between the cap's gasket and a semicircular groove; 5 is a perspective view of the capsule in a worn state, just as it is removed from a bottle.

The capsule generally labeled 1 according to the invention, shown in Figures 1 and 2, is formed of light metal sheet and comprises a circular cover plate 2 which is enclosed by an arcuate curved transition portion 3.

; A cylindrical edge flange 4 extends from the transition portion 3 and has a lower, free edge 5. A larger circular embossment is formed in the cover plate 2 and extends radially outwardly and extends into the arcuate transition portion 3 over a gradually inclined, step-shaped portion 7, so forming a shallow inverted chute 8 as shown in Fig. 4 ·. In addition, a smaller embossing 9 is centrally located inside, the larger embossing 6 and is limited by an inner, annular, oblique portion 10. In addition, the cap 1 is provided with a grip tab 11 which extends downwardly from the free edge 5 of the edge flange as a short neck 12 and then extends radially outwardly and downwardly to an end portion 13, which transitions into a draw ring 14. A pair of parallel, outwardly embossed reinforcement · extends vertically from the edge portion 1J across the neck 12 and edge flange 4- and terminates at the arcuate transition portion J.

A pair of fracture guide lines or notches, generally designated 18, are formed in the cap and, for convenience, have been shown to be formed in the outer surface of the cap, although internal notches may also be used. Each notch begins at a notch 17 formed in the free edge 5 of the edge flange at each side of the neck portion 12. From the notches 17, notches 18 extend upwardly across the edge flange 4 of the cap. As they extend into the arcuate transition portion 5, the grooves extend arcuate outwardly away from each other at 19 and transition into arcuate paths, indicated by 20 in Fig. 2, which extend partially along the arcuate transition portion 3 around the periphery of the cap 2 of the cap. arcuate portions 20 are so located in the arcuate transition portion 3 that they form the outer boundary 3a of the inverted groove 8. Each notch portion 20 continues along an arcuate portion.

7612795-0 orbit to a point in an angular position approximately 4-5 ° beyond the center section of the cap and then extends radially outward at 21 and terminates in the edge flange 8 on opposite siclor about the cap relative to the grip tab

11.

An annular gasket 22, consisting of a vinyl resin base sol, as non-limiting example, is formed in situ within the interior of the cap. As is clearly shown in Fig. 4, the gasket 22 fully complies with the shallow inverted groove 8 formed by the outer portion 7 of the embossed cover plate and the portion Yes of the arcuate transition portion located above the portion 20 of the notches. This shape of the gasket leaves the grooves uncovered immediately below the outer edge of the gasket, and the inner edge of the gasket extends radially inward from the groove 8 to form an effective seal when the cap is applied to a container. This positioning of the grooves completely outside the gasket means that the front portion protects the area around the grooves from contact with the packaged product, without the need for any expensive prior coating. This protection is often required when lack of compatibility of the product can cause a chemical effect on the metal forming the cap so that the packaged product can be contaminated. Even when the grooves are absorbed into the outer surface of the cap, some degree of damage to the interior coatings occurs, which must still be avoided.

A bottle 2J provided with a peripherally enlarged bead 24 enclosing the neck opening of the bottle is shown in Figure 5.

The capsule 1 according to the invention is shown here in an intermediate position during the opening, according to which the capsule is worn, but not completely separated from the underlying bead 24 of the bottle.

In addition to the advantages already described, which are achieved by the improved scoring pattern according to the invention, the opening and removal of the cap is similarly improved. A considerable degree of resistance to wear has previously occurred, since the gasket 22 is disrupted by wear in its longitudinal direction and in the transverse direction as the cap is worn away from the underlying bottle neck. From the above-described relationship between the gasket and the grooves according to the invention, it will be clear that. the shredding of the relatively tough gasket material is completely avoided. The only abrasive force required to remove the cap is that required to cause the very thin section of residual metal at the bottom of the notches to burst.

Finally, the present form of the grooves has been found to provide a noticeable improvement in the ease of ^J

7612795-0 which it. the worn cap was separated from the bottle. This increased ease of removing the capsule is based on the ability of the remaining capsule portions to grasp the underlying bottle bead 24 · has been minimized. In the described cutting pattern, only a narrow metal band consisting of the edge flange 4 and the remaining part of the arcuate transition portion 5 remains in engagement with the bottle bead after wear. The wear process is complete when the metal has been broken along the entire extent of the notches 20 and the end points located farthest from the grip tab have been saturated. Continued normal traction applied to the ring 11 then causes the relatively weak remaining capsule portions to be released very easily from the underlying bottle bead 24 so that the bottle contents are unwanted or spilled.

From the above it will be clear that a large number of advantages are achieved by the capsule according to the invention as stated above. It should be noted that variations in the design of the cap can be undertaken, e.g. changing the structure or shape of the capsule grip tab. Various gasket systems can also be used, e.g. a fully covering liner which adheres to or stands in friction engagement on the inside of the cap.

Further modifications of the construction and deviating embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that what is included in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings may only be considered as an example without limiting effect.

7612795-0