Closure device for a packaging container

An easy opening arrangement for a closure of a packaging container. The easy opening arrangement has a grip, preferably shaped as a ring, and from said grip there emanates tearing denotations in a removable part of the closure. Via a first connection portion said grip is connected to said emanating tearing denotations. The arrangement includes at least one further connection portion to the closure part. Said so called further connection portion maintains a substantial portion of the grip at a certain distance from the closure part, such that said substantial portion is easy grippable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a device at a closure for a packaging 
container and more precisely a device at an end closure having a so called 
easy opening arrangement. 
Arrangements of such type may be found at packaging containers of various 
types, for instance metal cans, cardboard folding boxes, plastic 
containers, tubes, etc. Of course, the easy opening arrangement is not 
there for any selfish reasons, instead the consumer--having the absolute 
right--dictates such facilities. The packaging producer has to consider 
such a clearly emphasized wish. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
However, easy opening devices frequently incur more annoyment compared to 
what is the case at packaging containers without such devices. A serious 
point of irritation is caused by the fact that the easy opening is 
difficult to grip. For instance there are various grips which may be 
gripped merely by a large input of effort and thereafter, hopefully, have 
a good enough tearing strength for breaking up a tearing denotation. Said 
two steps, an initial catching of the grip and thereafter the step of 
holding the grip with a sufficient force, may appear to be steps that 
could be offered to the consumer by the packaging manufacturer without any 
difficulties. 
However, it has turned out that the prior art grip arrangements do not meet 
such conditions. The reason for this is of course difficult to find, but 
presumably the indispensable rational production philosophy of the 
manufacturer in order to achieve a maximum production rate by using the 
cheapest possible production facility is one of several factors in this 
particular case. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
According to the present invention there is no retreat as to simplicity or 
a rational production but nevertheless, the object of the invention is to 
solve the problem of gripping a grip forming a part of an easy opening 
arrangement for a packaging container. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a device for a closure of a packaging 
container, where the closure is provided with an easy opening arrangement 
having a grip and a tearing denotation emanating from the grip and 
extending in a removable part of the closure, and the grip is connected to 
said closure part via said emanating tearing denotation. 
The device is characterized in that the grip has at least a further 
connection portion to the closure part, and that said portion maintains a 
substantial part of the grip at a certain distance from the closure part, 
such that said substantial portion will be easy grippable. 
According to one embodiment of the invention said further connection 
portion is dimensioned such that it is easy tearable but of a sufficient 
strength for resisting the forces acting on the grip when pulling cores 
and/or ejection operations out of the forming tool, when the closure is 
injection moulded from plastics or a corresponding material. 
In one preferable embodiment the grip has the shape of a ring, and said 
further connection portion comprises at least one narrow material bridge 
between the ring and the closure part placed at said certain distance from 
the ring. 
A preferable embodiment is such that said material bridge is located 
radially inwardly from the radially outer circumferential surface of the 
ring. 
The ring preferably is sufficiently large for easily encompassing a finger. 
In one embodiment said ring is maintained at said predetermined distance 
from the closure part by means of a pair of diametrically opposite 
material bridges. 
A straight line through the material bridges forms a generally 
perpendicular angle relative the connection portion of the ring at the 
emerging tearing denotation. 
Maintaining the requirement for simple tools mentioned at the introduction 
it has turned out that the arrangement according to the present invention 
is specifically of advantage when injection moulding by using one single 
ingot, in which case the package closure has just one ingot place, which 
preferably may be located at the center of the closure. 
The location of the tearing or pulling ring is of course arbitrary, but a 
preferable embodiment comprises a ring placed at the center.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The closure or container cover identified by the numeral 10 in FIG. 1 is of 
the so called easy opening type. For such reason there is a grip in the 
shape of a pulling ring 11 formed on the closure. 
Via a first connection portion 12 the ring 11 merges into a tearing 
denotation comprising a pair of grooves 13, 14 forming reduced material 
portions, said grooves being shown by solid lines in FIG. 1, because 
normally there is formed a bead formed "image" of such grooves at the 
upper side of a closure. The grooves are formed in the lower side of the 
closure, which appears from the extension of the tearing denotation 13 
indicated by the numeral 15. 
The reference numeral 16 denotes a circumferential rim intended for 
attachment to the end of a packaging container or any feasible connection 
piece of a container. 
The tearing denotation 15, thus, will be placed close to the container wall 
and leaves a generally smooth pouring opening after the closure has been 
broken through along the denotations 13, 14, 15 by use of the pull ring 11 
as a grip for a finger. 
Said pull ring 11 is sufficiently large for easily encompassing a finger, 
for instance the pointing finger. As appears from FIG. 2, the ring 11 is 
located at a predetermined distance d from the plane 17 for a cover panel 
of the closure, the center portion thereof in the embodiment shown. As 
previously mentioned the pull ring has a first connection portion 12 to 
the tearing denotations 13, 14 formed in the portion 17, and said 
connection portion 12 is dimensioned such that the indicated distance d 
may be maintained. Of course, the main task of the connection portion 12 
is not to maintain a certain predetermined distance relative the element 
17, but said connection portion forms a grip of sufficient strength to the 
strip 18 of the element 17 formed when breaking through the closure. 
However, in order to allow an easy initial grip of the ring 11, it is 
important to carefully see to it that the distance d really prevails. For 
this particular reason there is a pair of diametrically opposite, narrow 
material bridges 19, 20 which connect the ring 11 to the element 17 and 
positively define the said distance d in the embodiment shown. However, 
the strength of said material bridges 19, 20 is such that the ring will be 
easily separable from the support at the region for the bridges 19, 20, by 
placing a finger in the ring and pulling it upwards. 
In order to produce a closure of the type shown by using a rational 
technique, the present invention has disclosed that it is necessary to 
rely on a plastics injection moulding technique. According to the 
invention it has turned out to be possible to use for instance 
polyprophylene or another thermoplastics material, especially within the 
polyolefine group. 
In order to make use of a really favourable injection moulding technique, 
it is of great advantage to have just one single ingot. Thus, FIG. 2 shows 
one ingot place 21, in the actual embodiment placed at the center of the 
closure 10. 
However, in order to be able to produce the ring having the two opposite 
material bridges 19, 20 in FIG. 1 by using such an arrangement, the 
present invention discloses a specific preferable placement of such 
bridges 19, 20. In FIG. 3 in a partial section in a simplified 
representation, there is shown a portion of an injection moulding tool for 
manufacturing of closures 10. The tool comprises a female element 11 and a 
male element 23 and a core 24. The elements 23 and 22 are vertically 
movable relative each other, and the element 24 is vertically ejectable. 
The numeral 25 indicates the placement of a circumferential groove in the 
male element 24 for forming the ring 11. Radially inwardly from the outer 
surface of the circumferential groove 25 there are a pair of axially or 
vertically extending, groove shaped cut outs 26, 27 in the end of the core 
24 extending the whole way up to the end surface 28. In FIG. 3 there is, 
additionally, shown a centrally placed ingot 29. By using the arrangement 
according to FIG. 3 there will be no difficulties to make the core 
ejection after the injection moulding, i.e. the removal of the core 24 
vertically upwards. It has also turned out that the relative placement, 
radially inwardly relative the ring 21 of the material bridges 19, 20 
obtained by means of the grooves 26, 27 allows a fast and safe ejection 
from the mould of the injection moulded closure moulded in one step. Due 
to the radially inwards displaced placement of the material bridges 19, 
20, such bridges will easily fold inwards in the direction of the arrows 
20, as soon as a relative movement between the tool parts 22, 23 is 
initiated. 
However, it is of importance that the wall thickness of the grooves 26, 27 
and the bridges 19, 20, respectively, is dimensioned such that the 
ejection deformation does not break up the material bridges. However, at 
the same time it is necessary to realize that said material bridges, as 
mentioned at the introduction, are not allowed to be too strong but easy 
breakable by means of said finger grip.