A HYGENIC BARRIER FOR DRINKS CANS

Abstract: There is applied to the can (1), which is provided with an opening device (3) in the top (1B) surrounded by an annular rim (1C), around said annular rim (1C), a film (5) that can be removed or torn so that the opening device can be operated.

Description: A HYGIENIC BARRIER FOR DRINKS CANS DESCRIPTION Drinks cans opened by a simple lever device which is attached to the can top and can be used to detach a tongue-like portion of the can top defined by a preincision are very common. On opening, this tongue-like portion is bent in or otherwise manipulated to enable the liquid to be emptied out. The removal of the drink is an unhygienic process because the liquid touches surfaces of the can top that are exposed during the various handling operations and during storage; these conditions become worse when the drink is sipped directly by placing the lips on the top of the can. The object of the invention is to avoid these problems entirely, with simple, practical and economic means and processes. The invention relates firstly to a hygienic barrier for drinks cans of the type stated above, which barrier consists of a film applied to said annular rim and able to be removed or torn so that the opening device can be operated. Said film may be of stretchable thermoplastic resin or of heat-shrink thermoplastic resin. The film may be applied to the annular rim by heat-sealing or with an adhesive - such as a wax, a glue, a mastic or the like - applied to this rim in some suitable way. A development of the invention relates to a multiple pack of drinks cans provided with a hygienic barrier as defined above, the said can being arranged side by side in a geometrical arrangement. According to the invention, said multiple pack comprises a film that is applied to the annular rims of the tops of the cans and that can be torn to separate the portion of film belonging to each can, when the cans are separated from each other; the individual portion of film applied to the annular rim of each can can in turn be removed or torn so that the opening device can be operated. The film applied to the annular rims at the tops of the cans of a multiple pack as described above may comprise starter rip lines defining said individual portions of film, for separating them from each other in a regular manner. Said starter rip lines may be perforations or incisions. Said film applied to the annular rims of the tops of all the cans in a multiple pack may also form part of a heat-shrink plastic wrapping enclosing all the cans. This pack may comprise a carton, or a trough made of board with walls along the long sides of the plurality of packed cans, or a box made of board with walls on all four sides, in order to stiffen the pack (tray). The invention also relates to a process for producing a hygienic barrier as defined above in drinks cans provided with a device for opening the top of the can surrounded by an annular rim. In said process, a film is applied to said annular rim, said film being tearable or detachable from said rim. In an advantageous development of said process, a film is applied to the approximately coplanar annular rims of a plurality of cans arranged side by side for a multiple pack, said film being separable into individual portions belonging to the individual cans. In order to make this possible, said film may be incised or perforated to facilitate the separation of the various portions. Advantageously the incision or perforation is introduced after the application to the rims of the adjacent cans. The application of the film to the annular rim of the or each can may be done by applying an adhesive (wax, glue, mastic or the like) to said rim, or by heat sealing with incipient plastlfication and pressure. The operations of applying the film to the annular rim are advantageously carried out with the cans arranged together for their multiple packing. The invention will be understood more fully by following the description and examining the attached drawing, which latter shows a practical, nonrestrictive example of the invention. In the drawing Fig. 1 shows a drinks can provided with the hygienic barrier according to the invention, partly in section; Fig. 2 is a view from the plane ll-ll in Fig. 1 , with the barrier partly removed; Fig. 3 shows part of a plurality of cans in side by side formation with a film applied uniformly to all the cans, the film being separable into individual portions forming the individual hygienic barriers for the cans; Figs 4 and 5 show views on the plane IV-V in Fig. 3 for two alternative embodiments; Figs 6 and 7 are perspective views of two packs that can be prepared with a hygienic barrier film according to the invention and with optional reinforcement of board; Fig. 8 is a cross section on VIII-VIII in Fig. 7; and Figs 9, 10 and 11 are schematics showing successive stages in a process for forming the hygienic barriers. As is illustrated in the drawing, 1 denotes individual typical drinks cans. These have a bottom 1A, a top 1 B surrounded by an annular rim 1 C of limited upward projection, and a typical opening device 3 which is attached to the outer upper surface of the top 1 B; the device 3 can be manipulated so as to tear a preincised line 1 D around a portion of the metal sheet of the top 1 B so as to create an access opening in the can through which the drink can be removed; this opening is usually created by deforming a tongue 1 E, which is bounded by the preincision 1 D in the material of the top 1B and is bent in, or torn off altogether or otherwise deformed. When the drink is sipped directly and also when the drink is poured out through the opening produced by the tearing of the top 1 B, there is a danger of contamination of the drink (and also of the lips, when drinking directly from the can) and hence a lack of hygiene for the user. It is an object of the invention to prevent this problem, which is generated by the possible and frequent accumulation of dirt (dust, splashes of liquid and so forth) that can form on the outer surface of the top 1 B after the article has been produced in the factory, not only before the cans are made up into packs of several cans (if this is done) but also after such a pack is opened for subsequent use of the individual cans. According to the invention, the top 1 B is covered and protected with an easily removable or tearable film 5 which is applied to the annular rim 1 C that surrounds said top 1 B and which typically forms part of the structure of the can 1. This film 5 is applied in the manufacturing or packaging factory, and therefore under the hygiene conditions used in the preparation for canning purposes of the drinks that are contained in such cans. When the can reaches the final consumer, he or she can tear away the film 5 to get at the opening device 3 and detach the tongue 1 E from the preincision 1 D in the material of the top 1 B by which this tongue is defined. The user therefore can sip the drink directly through the resulting opening because of the complete hygiene of the surfaces that may come into contact with both the drink and the lips, when said drink is sipped or poured out. The film 5 may be applied with the aid of an adhesive, such as a food grade wax, glue or mastic or the like, which is applied to the tip of the rim 1 C, so that said adhesive provides sufficiently secure adhesion for the film 5, which may be either torn or detached from the rim 1 C when the contents of the can are to be consumed. The film 5 may be applied directly by heat-sealing, being a thermoplastic resin of stretchabie type or of heat-shrink type or other type, and usually and advantageously of food grade. Cans coming from the manufacturing factory are usually packed in a plurality of adjacent items, to form a particular geometrical volume, generally of rectangular form consisting of for example, 24 cans in four rows of six cans each, or other equivalent packaging. In the case of a multiple pack of the aforesaid type, it is advantageous to make the barrier by applying one film to all the cans arranged together for their packaging. As can be seen in particular in Figs. 3 ff, a film 7 can be laid over the plurality of adjacent cans and this film 7 is applied to the rims 1 C of the various cans, which are approximately coplanar with each other, by an easily devised process of application either with a mastic or by a system of compression sealing or heat sealing with the material of the film itself. The film 7 can be cut to separate the various cans which remain protected by a film similar to the film 5 taken from a corresponding portion of the film 7. To facilitate separation of the various portions of the film 7 that correspond to the individual adjacent cans, partial incisions or lines of weakness may be included in the film 7 in the spaces between the rims 1 C of the various cans. As illustrated in Fig. 4, circumferential incisions 9 may be formed to define portions of the film 7 in essentially circular forms, which must be kept on the separated cans until the time of final use. As illustrated in Fig. 5, partial incisions 10 or lines of weakness where tearing can be started, which are straight and parallel to the rows of cans, may be provided. In either case it is easy to separate the various cans while keeping the various portions of the film 7 stuck to the rims 1 C of the individual cans. The film 7 can also be applied after making the plurality of cans up into a pack inside a box container (tray) such as 12 shown in Fig. 6, which is made from a board material such as corrugated board or the like, or on a trough container as denoted by 14 in Figs. 7 and 8 with a flat part 14A on which the cans stand and with walls 14B running along the long sides of the rectangle formed by the plurality of aligned cans, for purposes of containment and stiffening. A packaging structure similar to 12 or 14 may even be limited to one layer of board or equivalent material such as the portion 14A of the structure 14 shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The plurality of cans in the abovementioned geometrical arrangement and with the optional container 12 or 14, or equivalent, can be enclosed in a film, for example a heat-shrink film or stretchable film that completely encloses the abovementioned multiple pack. This protective wrapping can be formed after the application of the film 7, which serves for the hygienic purposes indicated above, but ft is also possible for the same film used for the overall protective wrapping of the pack to be used as the protective film 7 as well, which will in this case again be preincised or otherwise prepared as indicated by 9 or 10 in Figs. 4 and 5 to enable the individual cans to be separated, each can still having a protective film such as 5, formed in " this case from a single film such as 7 which actually forms part of the abovementioned wrapping. Figs. 9 through 11 illustrate stages in a possible application procedure for a multiple pack. In Fig. 9 the numeral 51 indicates an apparatus for wetting the annular rims 16 of the cans with a glue, a mastic or the like. In Fig. 10 the numeral 53 indicates a component which presses the film 7 or equivalent onto said annular rims (or a component for heat sealing). Fig. 11 shows a component 55 for incising or perforating (9 or 10) the film 7 after it has been applied. It will be understood that the drawing shows only an example given purely as a practical demonstration of the invention, which invention can be varied in its shapes and arrangements without thereby departing from the scope of the concept on which the invention is based. The presence of any reference numerals in the accompanying claims is for the purpose of facilitating the reading of the claims with reference to the description and drawing, and does not limit the scope of protection represented by the claims.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A hygenic barrier for drinks cans having a device for opening the top of the can surrounded by an annular rim, characterized in that it consists of a film applied to said annular rim and able to be removed so that the opening device can be operated. 2. A hygienic barrier as claimed in claim 1 , in which the film is of stretchable thermoplastic resin. 3. A hygienic barrier as claimed in claim 2, in which the film is of heat- shrink thermoplastic resin. 4. A barrier as claimed in claim 1 or 2 or 3, in which the film is applied to the annular rim by heat sealing. 5. A barrier as claimed in claim 1 or 2 or 3, in which the film is applied to the annular rim with an adhesive, such as a wax, a glue, a mastic or the like, which is applied to the rim * . 6. A multiple pack of drinks cans provided with a hygienic barrier according to one of Claims 1 - 5, said cans being arranged side by side in a geometrical arrangement, characterized in that it comprises a film that is applied to the annular rims of the tops of the cans and that can be torn to separate portions of film belonging to each can, when the cans are separated from each other, and the individual portion of film applied to the annular rim of each can can in turn be removed or torn so that the opening device can be operated. 7. A pack as claimed in claim 6, in which the film is of stretchable thermoplastic resin. 8. A pack as claimed in claim 6, in which the film is of heat-shrink thermoplastic resin. 9. A pack as claimed in claim 6 or 7 or 8, in which the film is applied to the annular rims by heat sealing. 10. A pack as claimed in claim 6 or 7 or 8, in which the film is applied to the annular rims with an adhesive, such as a wax, a glue, a mastic or the like, which is applied to the rims. 11. A pack as claimed in one of claims 7 - 10, characterized in that it comprises, in the film applied to the annular rims of the tops of the cans, starter rip lines defining said individual portions of film, for separating them from each other in a regular manner. 12. A pack as claimed in claim 11 , characterized in that said starter rip lines are perforations or incisions. 13. A pack as claimed in at least one of claims 6 ff, characterized in that said film, applied to the annular rims of the tops of the cans, forms part of a wrapping enclosing all the cans. 14. A pack as claimed in at least one of claims 6 ff, characterized in that it also comprises a carton, or a trough made of board with walls along two mutually parallel sides, especially the long sides of the plurality of packed cans, or a box made of board with walls on all four sides, of limited height (tray). 15. A process for producing a hygienic barrier in drinks cans provided with a device for opening the top of the can surrounded by an annular rim, characterized in that a film is applied to said annular rim, said film being tearable or detachable from said rim. 16. Process as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that a film is applied to the approximately coplanar annular rims of a plurality of cans arranged side by side for a multiple pack, and in that said film is separable into individual portions belonging to the individual cans. 17. Process as claimed in claim 16, characterized in that said film is incised or perforated to facilitate the separation of the various portions. 18. Process as claimed in claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the incision or perforation is introduced after its application to the rims of the cans. 19. Process according to at least one of claims 15 - 18, characterized in that the application of the film to the annular rim of the or each can is done by applying an adhesive (wax, glue, mastic or the like) to said rim. 20. Process according to at least one of claims 15 - 18, characterized in that the application of the film to the annular rim of the or each can is done by heat sealing with incipient plastification and pressure. 21. Process as claimed in at least one of claims 15 -19, characterized in that the operations of applying the film to the annular rim are carried out with the cans arranged together for their multiple packaging.

Inventors: FRANCESCONI LORENZO, FRANCESCONI, LORENZO
Applicants: FRANCESCONI LORENZO, FRANCESCONI, LORENZO
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B65D51
IPC codes: B65D51, B65D71