Dispensing container with a sliding valve and a tamper-proof device

A packaging container (1) with at least one partition for uptake of pourable products, which has one opening (9) which can be aligned with an opening (16) in a cover member (3). A sealing strip (4) is also applied onto a label (5) which is applied onto an actual container (2) and onto a cover member (3) such that it prevents movement of a container (2) and a cover member (3) in relation to each other and also hygienically covers an opening (16) in a cover member (3).

The present invention concerns a packaging container with a closure means.
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 Different means have been proposed in state of the art technology in order
 to prevent unwanted opening of a packaging container and/or, in a case of
 unauthorised opening, to make this opening process irreversible and
 therefore show this to subsequent users. Such sealing plays a particularly
 large part in packaging of foodstuffs, where particularly hygienic
 conditions are involved and where product consumers want to be sure of
 obtaining undamaged and irreproachable goods.
 With use of containers as packaging, particularly for pourable goods such
 as spice powders, herbs or powder-form foodstuffs, there are primarily two
 sealing methods which are known. With first such sealing, a paper or
 plastic strip is stuck onto an actual container and onto a screwed-on or
 rotated cover, in order to prevent movement of a container and a cover
 relative to each other. Such seals nevertheless have a general
 disadvantage that they only connect a part of a cover and of a container
 to each other, such that it is possible for these to be removed and
 replaced without any trace of this being left. In packaging containers in
 which a cover member has one or more openings which can be aligned with
 corresponding openings in an actual container, to pour out a pourable
 product contained in it, unhygienic soiling of these cover openings is not
 prevented. A further disadvantage with curved sides is that removal of an
 adhesion-seal is more difficult for a user. In a case of a said second
 implementation of state of the art, a seal is stuck on over pour-openings.
 This seal can either be positioned under a screw-type or inserted cover,
 which acts as a mechanical closure of a packaging container concerned, or
 on a cover of a type mentioned above, provided with above-mentioned
 openings. In a first case, a buyer or user of a product can only see
 whether a seal has been removed or handled after unscrewing or removing a
 cover, and in a second case, movement of a cover is not eliminated, such
 that a cover concerned, if it can be removed for refilling, can actually
 be removed and replaced without a seal being damaged. In this case also, a
 customer cannot see whether a packaging container has been handled.
 Therefore, there is still a need for a removable closure means, such as a
 seal for example, which prevents opening of a packaging container with
 cover openings, and which also ensures a hygienic state of cover openings,
 and irreversibly shows handling by a customer.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention is therefore aimed at production of closure means, on
 a packaging container, which prevents opening of a packaging container and
 also functions as an indicator of intactness of a packaging container
 concerned, and simultaneously hygienically seals openings in a cover
 member of a packaging container.
 This aim is achieved by production of a packaging container with a closure
 means in accordance with independent claim 1. Further advantageous designs
 of a present invention follow from dependent claims, description and
 annexed diagrams.
 A packaging container in accordance with a present invention is as follows:
 an actual container (hereafter referred to as a `container`) for pourable
 products or goods such as spices, flours, dried fishfood, etc. A container
 concerned has, for example, in a main surface, its upper surface for
 example, one or more openings through which a pourable product can be
 poured.
 a closure member, such as a cover for example, which is connected to an
 actual container and/or to a closure means, such that movement of a
 closure member and a container in relation to each other is prevented.
 A pourable product can be removed from a packaging container concerned, by
 aligning openings in a container and a closure means, insofar as sealing
 means have been removed, whereupon, by inclining a packaging container
 concerned, a pourable product flows out under gravitational force.
 An actual container concerned can have any appropriate form which serves
 application of a closure means and movement of closure means and of a
 container in relation to each other. A top surface, of a container
 concerned, with openings, can therefore be rectangular, square or
 quadrangular for example, hexagonal or curvilinear, oval-shaped or
 circular for example. In particularly favoured implementations of a
 present invention, a top surface of a container with openings is either
 circular or hexagonal. A container concerned is therefore preferably
 cylindrical or six-sided in form.
 A container concerned can nevertheless have a top face which is different
 in size to an opposite face, such that a truncated cone-shape results, for
 example.
 At least one side of a container concerned has at least one opening through
 which a pourable product can flow. It is nevertheless also possible to
 have several openings in this face. These can, for example, be of
 different sizes, in order to enable selection of one particular opening
 for pouring a very small quantity, for example. Such openings can be
 implemented as groups of holes, for example, such that variation of a
 quantity poured is possible by means of different numbers of holes or
 different sizes of holes poured through.
 These holes can have different forms for specific purposes. It can, for
 example, be preferable for them to be circular or even oval, rectangular,
 or for them to have another form.
 The number and size and form of holes can likewise be determined by a type
 of pourable product concerned. It can therefore happen that another form,
 size or number of openings proves useful for one pourable product than for
 another.
 The container concerned can be provided with internal partitioning forming
 several separated container-sections. This facilitates simultaneous
 enclosure of different poured products in one container. In such a case,
 each partition must have at least one opening on a top face to enable
 selective extraction of a product.
 In a case where several openings are disposed in a top face, a cover member
 of a packaging container can be moved such that in each case one of
 openings in a main side can be brought into alignment with an opening in a
 closure member. Insofar as openings are associated with different
 partitions, it is also possible to arrange these openings of a main
 surface, or to arrange an opening in a closure member such that
 simultaneous pouring of flowing products from more than one partition is
 possible, in order to mix these.
 As described above, with arrangement of partitioning in a container
 concerned, this partitioning can be arranged such that they lie, with one
 side, on a top side of a container, such that their openings all lie on
 this top side. It is nevertheless also possible to introduce cross-walls
 such that openings lie on different sides of a container. It is possible,
 for example, to dispose a cross-wall parallel to a top face, in order to
 divide a container into two container sections. In this case an opening
 can be provided on a top side and an opposite second side.
 Therefore, there are accordingly two cover members, one on a top face and
 one on a base surface. A container concerned can furthermore be provided
 with further openings enabling it to be filled with poured products in
 filling machinery. These openings are preferably larger than openings for
 a user to pour a product concerned through, in order to speed up a filling
 process as much as possible. In one preferred implementation of a present
 invention, a base, opposite a top face, can be removed so that a container
 concerned is accessible for filling over its whole base surface. This base
 can be attached, by known measures, to a container, glued, held under
 tension or fused on, for example.
 Immediately opposite a top face, a cover member of a packaging container
 concerned is applied. A cover member concerned can have a form which
 exactly covers a form of a covered top face, nevertheless it can also be
 implemented smaller, leaving a section of a top face uncovered. Whatever,
 it must be shaped and proportioned such that it can cover all openings, in
 a top face, in at least one position, in order to prevent unwanted
 emptying of a flow-product, after removal of sealing, and must have
 positions in which all openings in a top face are selectively aligned with
 an opening in a said cover member, in order to enable pouring of a
 flow-product from all openings.
 To ensure functioning of a cover member, this must lie directly on a facing
 side of a top face of a container, in order to avoid lateral emptying of a
 flow-product from openings covered by a cover member. A cover member
 concerned can, as seen in a side view, be developed as a flat disc or
 preferably as a lid with a cover and a lateral skirt section which reaches
 as far as at least a part of side-walling of a container concerned.
 The cover member concerned can be connected to a container concerned by
 means of a rotating journal, insofar as a rotational movement is provided
 for as a part of closure. Such a rotation-journal can, for example, be
 disposed, as a single piece, as a projection in a centre or in a corner of
 a cover and through a thickening at its end which is guided through a
 corresponding hole in a top face of a container concerned, which is
 prevented from sliding out of a said hole, in order to thereby ensure
 problem-fee fitting of a cover member on a container. A cover member
 concerned can also be connected to a container by means of a groove and
 rim arrangement. With this, grooves or rims can be disposed on an upper
 edge of at least a section of side-walling of a container, in which
 corresponding lateral grooves and rims of a cover member engage when a
 said cover member is applied. Depending on a form of a container concerned
 and arrangement of grooves and of rims, this design enables rotational
 movements of a cover member and a container in closing towards each other,
 or lateral sliding of cover member and container. In this way, with
 circular development of a top face, it is possible, in a particularly
 favoured implementation, to arrange a rim, around a circular lateral wall,
 in which a rim engages on a skirt section of a cover such that a cover can
 be turned at will through an angle of 360 degrees in relation to a
 container concerned. It is also possible for example to apply a groove and
 rim arrangement of a container, on a raised section in a centre of a top
 face. With this design, a cover member has a recess, in its centre, facing
 a top surface, or it has an opening passing through it in which a raised
 section of a top face can engage. In this design, openings in an upper
 face are positioned grouped around a raised section for example. Rims can
 be produced separately and be attached onto a cover member and/or onto a
 container using known measures, or they are developed as a single piece
 with a cover and/or a container.
 Container and cover member can be designed such that, for example, it is
 possible to remove a cover member several times, without damaging a cover
 or a container, to fill a container concerned with a flow-product.
 Furthermore, container and cover member can be provided with a projection
 and a recess corresponding with it in a second member, enabling arresting
 of a cover member in relation to a container in one position, after
 removal of a seal, all openings in a top face of a container being covered
 in a said one position.
 A seal concerned can be attached onto a container and a cover member
 simultaneously. This prevents movement of a cover and a container in
 relation to each other, such that these cannot be brought into a position
 in which a minimum single opening is brought into alignment with an
 opening or openings in a top face of a container, such that no
 pour-product can flow out. A seal concerned is applied as part of a
 filling process, during, before or after filling, and thereby also serves
 as an indicator showing fullness with and intactness of a flow-product, in
 a packaging container concerned. A consumer thereby obtains sureness when
 purchasing a product.
 In a favoured implementation, a seal additionally closes an opening in a
 cover member, in order to avoid soiling of a pour-opening.
 A clasp-zone which enables simple removal of a seal by an end-user, can
 additionally be disposed on a seal. In a preferred implementation, this
 clasp-zone is identical with an area of a seal which closes an opening or
 openings in a cover member. This design is favourable as a closure area is
 distinctly visible and a clasp-function is therefore easily understood by
 a user, and a closure zone is particularly accessible. In addition, cost
 of materials is reduced.
 Different forms and designs of a seal are possible within scope of a
 present invention. A seal concerned can, for example, connect a container
 to a cover member over a peripheral section of a cover member concerned
 or, in a particularly favoured implementation, over a whole periphery. In
 addition, a seal can extend as far as sides of a container concerned.
 A seal concerned can comprise a single or several sections. It can, as a
 strip, extend off from a cover member. Several clasp-zones can be
 provided, preferably where a seal comprises several sections. Likewise,
 several zones for covering openings in a cover member can be provided.
 Seal means are preferably implemented as a sealing strip. This can
 favourably be manufactured from a flat material, such as paper,
 sheet-polymer or an adhesive film. This design enables a particularly
 flexible and variable application of a seal concerned onto a container and
 a cover member. A packaging container in accordance with a present
 invention can moreover be provided with a product label. Such a label can
 be applied onto one or more sides of a container, or enclose a container
 within a whole periphery of lateral walls.
 In a preferred implementation of a present invention, sealing means,
 developed as a sealing strip, and a label, can be developed as a single
 element, that is, an initial piece. In this case, a seal strip is
 detachably connected to a label in that a perforation is punched or a line
 of weakness is scratched into an initial piece separating an area of a
 sealing strip from that of a label. This perforation or line of weakness
 acts as a set line of tearing, along which a seal is detached from a label
 when it is removed. In addition a sealing strip and label can be applied
 onto a cover member and a container such that an area of releasable
 attachment mainly lies over a transition from a cover member to a
 container. With this, movement of a cover member and a container is
 prevented by a releasable connection. A single-piece design concerned
 facilitates simultaneous application of a label and sealing strip and
 enables simpler and more precise positioning of a sealing strip because of
 a normally greater extension of a label in relation to that of a sealing
 strip concerned. Labels with attached sealing strips concerned can be
 punched out of larger sheets or webs. In such a case, punching out and
 perforation or scratching in can favourably occur in one process.
 Illustrations as follows, are to explain some preferred design
 implementations of a present invention:

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
 FIG. 1 shows a first design of a present invention. A packaging container
 marked overall as 1 comprises a container 2 for uptake of a poured
 product, a cover member 3, a second cover member, namely a base 6 of a
 container 2, a seal 4 and a label 5.
 A container 2 is a hollow cylinder and has a first side 7 which is a top
 face.
 Four lengthways running partitions or sections are separated by two
 cross-shaped intermediate walls 8 (shown as a dashed line) disposed inside
 a container. Four circular openings 9 are disposed on a first side 7 and
 lead to one of partitions. There is an indentation 10 running around a
 side wall of a cylinder concerned, bordering directly on a first face 7.
 Rims 11 disposed on this divide up groove-like zones 12. Notching 13 is
 furthermore disposed in an area of indentation.
 A container 2 concerned can be manufactured from materials which are
 generally known in packaging technology. It can, for example, be pressed
 out of synthetic material. A single-piece design of all characteristics of
 a container concerned is additionally preferred.
 A cover member 3 encloses a flat cover member 14 and a circular skirt 15,
 extending downwards, disposed on a periphery of a cover member 14. An
 inner diameter of a skirt 15 substantially corresponds to an outer
 diameter of an indentation 10 of a container 2. A rim (not shown) is
 disposed on an inner periphery of this skirt member 15, on its lower end.
 There is, furthermore, an opening 16 disposed in a cover member. In a
 present implementation an opening concerned has a same form and size as an
 opening 9 in a container concerned.
 If a cover member 3 is set on a container 2, rims on an inner periphery of
 a skirt member 15, engage in a groove-zone 12, thereby securing a cover
 member against falling off from a container concerned. In this position, a
 cover member 14 lies directly on a first face 7, in order to ensure
 reliable closure of openings 9. A cover member concerned can rotate
 through 360 degrees, such that an opening 16 can be aligned with each of
 openings 9.
 Openings 9 and 16 are accordingly disposed such that they are all
 equidistant from a rotational centre of a cover 3 and a container 2. At
 least two openings 9 are moreover separated from each other such that a
 further zone 17 results which is wider than a diameter of an opening 16.
 There is, furthermore, a bulge (not shown) on an inner periphery of a skirt
 15. This is disposed relative to an opening 16 such that it engages, with
 rotation of a cover member, in indentation 13, when an opening 16 comes to
 lie over a further zone 17. In this way, a cover member is arrested in a
 position in which all openings 9 are closed. Indentation 13 and bulging in
 a skirt member are proportioned such that a user must apply a slight force
 in order to disengage these two elements.
 In a present invention, a seal 4 is implemented as a sealing strip. This
 sealing strip 4 has an elongated form of substantially constant width, and
 has a laterally projecting zone 18 at one of its ends. A sealing strip 4
 is disposed on a container 2 and on a cover member 3, such that it covers
 a join, formed between a main section of a cylinder 2 and a lower edge of
 a skirt-member 15, substantially over its whole length, whereby it runs
 parallel to this join and to a cover section 14 of a closure means. A
 laterally projecting zone 18 runs along a skirt member 15 in a direction
 of a cover member 14, flaps onto a rim between a skirt member 15 and a
 cover section 14 and, with its end area, closes an opening 16. This end
 area is favourably broader than a shoulder of a laterally projecting zone
 18, in order to reliably close an opening 16. This end zone of a laterally
 projecting zone 18 simultaneously serves as a clasping section when a
 sealing strip 4 is removed. A seal strip 4 concerned is produced from
 sheet polymer. It is coated with ordinary adhesives on a side facing a
 packaging container 1, so that it can be connected, over its full
 surface-area, to a container 2 and a cover member 3.
 A label 5 is furthermore disposed on a container concerned. This is
 essentially rectangular in form and covers most of cylindrical sides of a
 container 2, as it is wound once round this. A label concerned can be
 printed on, showing goods contained in a container and/or partitions and
 giving details of a company concerned, plus further information, or
 showing graphic elements.
 In a design concerned here, a label is likewise implemented as a
 single-piece together with a sealing strip, and is made of sheet-polymer.
 Sealing strip 4 and label 5 are detachably connected by means of a tearing
 line 19. A tear-line concerned can, for example, be developed as a line of
 weakness through indentation on a film concerned. Alternatively, a
 tear-line can be produced by a line of perforations in sheet-polymer. A
 combination of both processes is also possible.
 A side opposite a top face of a cylindrical container is omitted in a
 present design. Instead, a groove is provided, on an inner rim of a
 periphery of a lateral surface, in which a base 6 with a corresponding rim
 or its lateral rim can engage. A base can be attached, with usual means,
 to a lateral surface, by means for example of tensioning or retaining
 forces of a groove concerned, through adhesion or fusion.
 Evidently, an implementation described above can be modified. Either more
 or fewer partitions can be included. Each partition can have one or
 several openings 9. A rotation journal can also be used in place of a
 rim-groove system.
 When manufacturing seals, an angle of rotation concerned can be limited to
 less than 360 degrees. A seal strip 4 can be guided over only a section of
 a periphery of a cylinder concerned. A laterally projecting zone does not
 have to end in an end area, instead it can, for example, extend bow-shaped
 over a whole cover section.
 FIG. 2 shows a design of a present invention, in which a hexagonal
 container is produced. Identical reference numbers indicate identical
 characteristics as for FIG. 1.
 A container 2 is hexagonal and has a first face 7 which, in a normal
 position, is its top face, and which is hexagonal in plan view. A total of
 six lengthways sections or partitions are separated by three intermediate
 walls 8 (shown by a dashed line) disposed lengthways inside a container 2.
 Five circular openings 9 are disposed on a top face 7, each leading to one
 partition and each equidistant from a central point of a top face.
 In a centre of a top face there is a raised member 20 which is provided on
 its side wall 21 with a surrounding groove 22. A cover member 3 is
 likewise hexagonal in form and has a same size as a top face 7 of a
 cylindrical raised member 20 on a top face 7. In its centre, a cover
 member 3 has a circular central opening 23 passing through its whole
 thickness, an inner diameter of a said hole substantially corresponding to
 an outer diameter of a cylindrical raised member 20 on a top face 7. A
 circular rim is disposed on an inner periphery of this central opening 23,
 this rim being separated from a surface of a cover member facing a top
 face 7 exactly as a groove 22 is separated, from a top face 7, in a
 cylindrical, raised member 20.
 If a cover member 3 is set on a container 2, a rim 24 engages, on an inner
 periphery of a central opening 23, in a groove 22 of a raised member 20
 and thereby secures a cover member 3 against falling from a container 2.
 In this position, a surface of a cover member 3 facing a top face 7 must
 lie directly on a said top face 7, in order to ensure reliable closure of
 openings 9. A cover member 3 can rotate through an angle of 360 degrees
 such that an opening 16 can be aligned with any one of openings 9. An
 indentation 13 and a corresponding bulging in a cylindrical raised member
 20 and a central opening 23 enable at least one position of a cover member
 and a top face 7 in relation to each other in which all openings 9 are
 closed.
 In a design shown here, a partition which has no opening 9 is not designed
 for uptake of a flow-product. With this, a position for closure of all
 openings 9 can be appropriately chosen such that an opening 16 in a cover
 member comes to lie over this partition.
 FIG. 2 further shows a seal in accordance with a present invention as a
 sealing strip 4 which is detachably connected to a label 5. Mounting of a
 label 5 and seal 4 substantially corresponds to that shown in FIG. 1.
 Different variations are also possible with this design. A rim and groove
 system as shown in FIG. 1 can be used. Numbers of partitions can be
 reduced or increased, and a number of partitions present can differ from a
 number of sides of a container concerned, or all partitions can be used,
 etc.
 FIG. 3 shows a further design of a present invention, for which a square
 packaging container is produced. Identical referral numbers show same
 characteristics as in FIG. 1.
 A container 2 has, in plan view, a square contour. In a present invention,
 an intermediate wall 8 serves to divide two sections or partitions, having
 a same or different sizes, which each have an opening 9 on a top face 7. A
 container 2 has two indentations 10' with rims 11' and groove-like zones
 12'. A cover member 3 comprises a square cover section 14 and two skirt
 sections 15' which are disposed as in FIG. 1. When a cover member
 concerned is placed on a container 2, rims and grooves have a same
 function as in FIG. 1 and enable lateral movement of a cover member 3 on a
 container 2. In this way, by movement of a cover member 3 with an opening
 16 aligned with one of openings 9, a flow-product is poured. A cover
 member 3 can also be brought into at least one position in which all
 openings 9 are covered by a cover section 14.
 In a design shown in FIG. 3, a sealing strip 4 is developed as a strap
 which extends from a longitudinal side wall over a skirt section 15'
 associated with this side wall, a cover section, a skirt section 15' of
 another side wall and over this other longitudinal side wall, whereby a
 sealing strip also cover an opening 16 in a cover member. Here, a cover
 member is in an arrestable initial position in which all openings 9 are
 covered.
 Different variations are also possible with this design. A container
 concerned can be implemented without intermediate walls, for example. A
 sealing strip, similar to that shown in FIG. 1, can also be guided around
 all four sides of a container 2, or it can, at least in a zone of
 transition from a skirt member to a container, be so broad that it covers
 a whole join over a whole width of a skirt-section. Sealing strips can
 also have separate, laterally projecting zones serving as clasps and/or
 covering an opening 16 which is disposed such that it can be moved. As a
 further variation, it is conceivable that only one skirt-member be secured
 with a sealing strip.
 In an example as shown in FIG. 3, a sealing strip is shown as a unity
 separated from a label 5. It is nevertheless also possible, as in FIG. 1,
 to develop label and seal-strip as a single piece.