BOTTLE CAP AND METHOD OF PRODUCING IT

Abstract: Bottle cap (3) with a gripping flap (4) and associated gripping part. Characterizing for the invention is that the gripping part of the gripping flap (4) is formed from the residue material (10) resulting from the production of the cap (3). The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing the cap.

Description: The invention relates to a bottle cap and a method of producing it, particularly a bottle cap with a gripping flap having a gripping part well suited to gripping. * 5 Caps are usually produced by the cap blank in a flat state being punched out of a thin strip of material and then reshaped so thatit has a flat lid part, a flange part extending at an angle to the lid part and a gripping flap. The resulting residue material, which constitutes 10 the remains of the strip of material after the cap blank has been punched out, is wound up on to reels and discarded. The gripping flap on most cap types is so thin today that the cap is difficult to open. The risk of being injured by cutting increases at the same time. The caps are very 15 often impossible for children to open. In order to make the caps more suitable for gripping, it has been previously proposed to provide the gripping flap with a gripping part in the form of a ring, which is rivetted to the gripping flap using a hole made in the flap. Such gripping rings 20 are made from separate pieces of material and are applied to the cap in a further manufacturing process. The consump¬ tion of material for each cap blank thus increases to a notable degree, while special manufacturing machines are also required, resulting in that manufacture becomes 25 more complicated and time-consuming. As a consequence of this, each cap becomes considerably more expensive. To overcome the above mentioned problems, and to provide a cap well suited for gripping at the same time, a cap 30 for bottles or the like is proposed in accordance with the present invention, and includes a gripping flap with associated gripping part where the gripping part of the flap is adapted for producing from the material left over after punching. The invention relates to a method of producing the cap. By forming the gripping part of the gripping flap in this way from the material left over after producing the cap blank, a considerable saving of material is made. The residue material discarded for the moment comes fully into use, this material attaining to about 10% of the material from which the cap is punched, and also no further material needs to be supplied to the gripping flap, which is the case at present. What is characterizing for the invention will be apparent from the following claims. In the following the invention will be described more closely in con¬ junction with the accompanying drawings on which Figure 1 illustrates a part of a strip of material from which the cap blanks are punched. Figure 2 illustrates a punched-out cap blank with adhering residue material after folding. Figure 3 illustrates a punched-out cap blank with adhering residue material during rolling-up, and Figure 4 illustrates a finished cap with a gripping flap well suited for gripping. In Figure 1 there is shown stock material, generally denoted by the reference numeral 1, which may consist of a strip or sheet of material, the width of which is a multiple of the width of a given number of material strips. Each strip is divided into a number of equally as large material parts 2 from which cap blanks 3 are punched. Each cap blank 3 is conventionally formed with a gripping flap 4 and two fracture scores 5 and 6. Each cap blank is separated along the lines 7,8 and 9 together with attached residue material 10 from adjacent material parts. For the sake of clarity, one of the residue materials 10 has been hatched in Figure 1. The cap blank is simultaneously punched out from the associated material part 2 so that the blank is separated from the residue material 8, although not completely. As will be seen from Figure 1, the residue material 10 is united to the cap blank 3 along the entire width of the flap at the outer end of the gripping flap 4. In a sub¬ sequent step, the residue material is folded or rolled over the cap blank 3 so that the material will be oriented in close connection to the gripping flap 4. In Figure 2, the residue material has been folded in an undeformed state about the axis A-A so that it will be arranged in the vicinity of the gripping flap 4. The residue material may be folded upwards or downwards in relation to the rest of the cap. The material 10 is then pressed together with the aid of a suitable tool (denoted by the arrows P in Figure 2) to form a gripping part 11 integrated with the gripping flap 4, see Figure 4. The gripping part 11 may have any kind of shape well suited to gripping, e.g. spherical as in the figure, or cubical. It is also possible to form the gripping part in the shape of a bar, whereby a wider gripping part is obtained. The bar may have either a round or a rectangular cross section. An alternative method is illustrated in Figure 3 for pro¬ ducing the gripping part of the gripping flap. By gripping the residue material at the end facing away from the gripping flap on the cap and then rolling it a plurality of turns, the entire residue material is transferred to the area of the gripping flap. The material is then pressed with the aid of a suitable tool into a gripping part integrated with the gripping flap. By making use in this way of all the residue material formed during manufacturing the cap, which is about 10% of the total material consumption, unnecessary waste is avoided, while a cap well-suited for gripping is obtained, and which is easy for anybody to open without the risk of injury. The invention is not to be regarded as confined to what has been set forth above, but may be varied within the scope of the following claims.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Bottle cap with a gripping flap and associated gripping part, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the gripping part (11) of the gripping flap (4) is formed from residue material (10) resulting from the production of the cap (3). 2. Cap as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the gripping part (11) is in unbroken contact with the gripping flap 4. 3. Cap as claimed in either of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the gripping part is formed substantially spherically. 4. Cap as claimed in any one of claims 1-3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the gripping part is formed with a bar-like configuration. 5. Method of manufacturing caps where each cap has a gripping flap with associated gripping part and is produced from material stock (1) simultaneously as residue material (10) is formed, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the residue material (10) is worked to form the gripping part (11) associated with the gripping flap (4). 6. Method as claimed in claim 5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the cap (3) is punched out of the material stock (1) so that the residue material (10) coheres to the cap in the area of the gripping flap (4) , subsequent to which the residue material (10) is transferred to the part of the cap where the gripping flap is and is then reshaped into said gripping part. 7. Method as claimed in claim 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the residue material is transferred by rolling it up. 8. Method as claimed in claim 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the residue material is transferred undeformed by being sub¬ jected to a turning movement in the area of the gripping flap. 9. Method as claimed in any one or some of the preceding claims 6-8, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the reshaping takes place using a compressing process.

Inventors: SJOEGREN BOERJE, SJOEGREN, BOERJE
Applicants: SJOEGREN BOERJE, SJOEGREN, BOERJE
Application year: 1986
Main classification: B65D41
IPC codes: B21D51, B65D41