A CLOSURE ARRANGEMENT FOR CANS

Abstract: A closure arrangement for cans, whose body (10) is provided with a circular upper edge, to which is externally incorporated, by a seaming bead (11), a structural ring (15), over which is removably affixed a seal film (30), comprising a metallic lid (20) defined by an upper wall (21) provided with a peripheral sealing portion (21a) and a pending lateral wall (22) incorporating at least one inner shoulder (23) circumscribed by a circumference of diameter (dt), which is greater than the outer diameter (d) of the upper edge of the can and smaller than the outer diameter (dc) of the seaming bead (11), said inner shoulder (23) being shaped to be seated under the seaming bead (11), thus axially locking the lid (20) in the closed position and keeping its peripheral sealing portion (21a) pressed and hermetically seated onto the upper edge of the body (10) of the can, the pending lateral wall (22) being elastically deformable in order to allow the displacement of the inner shoulder (23) over the seaming bead (11) during the opening and reclosing operations of the lid (20).

Description: A CLOSURE ARRANGEMENT FOR CANS Field of the Invention The present invention refers to a closure arrangement for tubular cylindrical metallic cans, generally used for storing various products, such as food products, and closed by an also metallic and reclosable lid, which protects the product contained inside the can after the first opening of the lid. Background of the Invention Metallic cans in which the lid may be reclosed after its first opening are well known in the art . In this construction, the lid is seated onto a structural ring which is peripherally seamed at the upper edge of the body of the can together with a mettalic film, which functions both as a seal and as a means for assuring the tightness of the can until the first opening thereof. Even though it assures a hermetic and safe reclosing of the can, this construction demands the use of a tool in the form of a lever to open the lid and also a cutting tool to tear the metallic film of the inner seal, making the opening operation somewhat laborious. Moreover, this type of metallic film, usually a thin aluminum foil, often cuts the user's hands because of the barbs that remain under the structural ring. In another known construction, the closure arrangement comprises a lid formed by a thin metallic or composite foil, which is peripherally glued to the upper end region of the can, and an overlid usually of plastic material and fittable over the upper end of the can. Even though it allows a very simple manual opening of the can, this construction only assures the hermetic closing until the seal film is torn or removed, since the overlid does not assure the hermetic closing of the can, serving only to cover the upper end thereof. In still another known construction used in glass jars, the lid is made of metallic foil and has a pending peripheral skirt incorporating a plurality of small inner radial projections that interact with threads externally incorporated to the upper opening of the glass jar. The turning of the lid fits these small inner radial projections under the threads of the jar and forces the lid downwardly, assuring both its axial retention to the jar opening and the tightness of the closure even in the reclosing operations of the lid after the first opening. The lid is usually provided with an inner sealing gasket made of elastomeric material, which is compressible against the upper edge of the jar. While providing a simple closure that allows an easy opening operation of the lid and its hermetic closing as many times as needed, this prior art construction is only applicable to jars made of glass or a similar material incorporating the peripheral threads. In short, it might be said that the prior art provides closure arrangements for cans which assure the hermetic and safe reclosing of the lid through constructions that usually require the use of tools or auxiliary instruments to make possible the manual opening of the lid. The known solutions that provide operations of easy opening and safe hermetic reclosing of the lid are exclusively applied to jars made of glass or other similar material and to stamped metallic lids. Disclosure of the Invention The object of present invention is to provide a closure arrangement for metallic cans comprising an inviolable hermetic seal, which is easily torn without the use of tools or auxiliary instruments and without the risk of hurting the user, and a lid which is also metallic and which is easily manually opened by the force of the user' s fingers and is hermetically reclosable . A further object of the present invention is to provide a closure arrangement for cans as defined above, which allows a higher speed of production of the component parts of the can, avoiding the operations of plastic material injection. The objectives mentioned above are achieved by providing a closure arrangement for cans, whose body is provided with a circular upper edge, to which is externally incorporated, by means of a seaming bead, a structural ring over which is removably affixed a seal film. According to the invention, the present arrangement comprises a metallic lid 20 defined by an upper wall 21 provided with a peripheral sealing portion 21a and a pending lateral wall 22 incorporating at least one inner shoulder 23 circumscribed by a circumference having a diameter dt greater than the outer diameter d of the upper edge of the can and smaller than the outer diameter dc of the seaming bead 11, said inner shoulder 23 being shaped to be seated under the seaming bead 11, axially locking the lid 20 in the closed position and keeping its peripheral sealing portion 21a pressed and hermetically seated onto the upper edge of the body 10 of the can, the pending lateral wall 22 being elastically deformable in order to allow the displacement of the inner shoulder 23 over the seaming bead 11 during the opening and reclosing operations of the lid 20. The construction defined above, through a conventional construction of the body and a novel construction of the lid, allows to produce a can which is hermetically closed until its first opening by means of a seal film which is easily and safely detached, the can being completed by a lid, which is easily opened and hermetically reclosable. Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will be described below, with reference to the attached drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diametral cross-sectional view of the upper portion of a can with the lid in the open exploded condition and built according to the present invention; and Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1, but illustrating the lid in the closed condition onto the can. Best Mode of Carrying Out the Invention According to the illustrated drawings, the can of the present invention is built of tin foil, coated or uncoated, aluminum foil or other suitable material, comprising a body 10 of cylindrical shape at least in the region of its upper end edge, which is externally shaped as a seaming bead 11, hermetically affixing an also metallic structural ring 15 which defines the opening A for access to the interior of the body 10 to be closed by a lid 20. In the illustrated embodiment, the body 10 of the can has a cylindrical shape, and it should be understood that its upper portion may be frusto-conical, ending at an upper end edge having an outer diameter which is substantially smaller than the outer diameter of the body 10, allowing the outer diameter of the lid 20 to be at most the same as the outer diameter of the body 10, or that the outer contour of the lid 20 is contained within the contour of the body 10. This constructive arrangement protects the lid 20 against radial and circumferential impacts during the transportation and storing operations, when the cans are positioned side-by-side. In a manner known in the art, a seal film 30 of metallized foil, usually aluminum, is glued or otherwise affixed over the structural ring 15, in order to assure the complete tightness of the can until the first opening of the lid 20 and also to visually inform the user that the can has not been violated. The seal film 30 incorporates a means to provide an easier grip by the user's fingers, such as a radial tab projecting folded over the seal film 30. This known construction allows the seal film 30 to be easily and completely detached from the structural ring 15 upon the first opening of the can, without forming barbs or cutting edges . The lid 20, formed of stamped metallic foil, comprises an upper wall 21 having circular contour and is provided with a peripheral sealing portion 21a, which is seatable onto the upper end edge of the body 10, and a pending lateral wall 22 incorporating an inner shoulder 23 provided along the whole circumferential extension of the pending lateral wall 22. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner shoulder 23 is obtained by deformation of the whole circumferential extension of the pending lateral wall 22, being understood that this deformation may be located in at least three regions, circumferentially spaced apart from each other, at the pending lateral wall 22, which in turn would have three or more inner shoulders obtained by the inward radial deformation of said pending lateral wall. Independently from the fact that the inner shoulders are three or a plurality, to the point of forming a single inner circumferential shoulder on the lateral wall 22, they are dimensioned in order to remain, both in the inoperative open lid condition and in the closed lid operative condition, circumscribed to a circumference of diameter dt larger than the outer diameter d of the lower edge of the body 10 of the can, and smaller than the outer diameter of the can and smaller than the outer diameter dc of the seaming bead 11, in order to be seated under the latter, axially locking the lid 20 in the closed condition and keeping the peripheral sealing portion 21a pressed onto the upper edge of the body 10 of the can. The formation of the lid 20 in metallic foil allows the pending lateral wall 22 to be elastically deformable in order to allow the displacement of the inner shoulders 23 over the seaming bead 11 in the opening and reclosing operations of the lid. The shaping of the inner shoulder 23, in connection with the elasticity of the pending lateral wall 22 allows that, in the closed condition of the lid 20, the peripheral sealing portion 21a of the upper wall 21 remains pressed against the upper edge of the body 10 of the can. As illustrated, the inner shoulder 23 presents a cross-section having the approximate shape of a "V with rounded vertex, so that its upper flank operates as an inclined plane and elastically deformed under the seaming bead 11, whereby the assembly formed by the pending lateral wall 22, inner shoulder 23 and peripheral sealing portion 21a of the lower wall 21 of the lid 20 operates as an elastic annular clamp maintaining the peripheral sealing portion 21a pressed against the upper edge of the body 10 of the can. The sizing of the pending lateral wall 22 is done in order to assure, simultaneously, an adequate axial locking of the lid 20 onto the body 10 of the can and an easy opening of the lid 20 by the user, without the aid of tools. The lid 20 has the lower free edge of one pending lateral wall 22 curved outwardly and upwardly at small ferrules 24 of structural finishing. In order to assure a high degree of tightness to the can upon the reclosing of the lid after the first opening and the removal of the seal film 30, the peripheral sealing portion 21a of the lid 20 is provided with an annular gasket 40 of suitable material, having a certain flexibility, to be pressed against the upper edge of the body 10 of the can upon closing the lid 20. As illustrated in the drawings, the peripheral sealing portion is defined at a level, which is slightly lower than the rest of the lower wall 21 of the lid 20, due to structural reasons and to create a lower groove for housing the annular gasket 40.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A closure arrangement for cans, whose body (10) is provided with a circular upper edge, to which is externally incorporated, by a seaming bead (11), a structural ring (15) over which is removably affixed a seal film (30), characterized in that it comprises a metallic lid (20) defined by an upper wall (21) provided with a peripheral sealing portion (21a) and a pending lateral wall (22) incorporating at least one inner shoulder (23) circumscribed by a circumference of diameter (dt), which is greater than the outer diameter (d) of the upper edge of the can and smaller than the outer diameter (dc) of the seaming bead (11), said inner shoulder (23) being shaped to be seated under the seaming bead (11), thus axially locking the lid (20) in the closed position and keeping its peripheral sealing portion (21a) pressed and hermetically seated onto the upper edge of the body (10) of the can, the pending lateral wall (22) being elastically deformable in order to allow the displacement of the inner shoulder (23) over the seaming bead (11) during the opening and reclosing operations of the lid (20) . 2. The arrangement of claim 1, characterized in that the inner shoulder (23) is obtained by the localized deformation of circumferential extensions of the pending lateral wall (22) which are spaced apart from each other. 3. The arrangement of claim 1, characterized in that the inner shoulder (23) is obtained by deformation of the entire circumferential extension of the pending lateral wall (22) of the lid (20). 4. The arrangement of claim 1, characterized in that the inner shoulder (23) presents a "V" shaped cross- section with a rounded vertex. 5. The arrangement of claim 1, characterized in that the peripheral sealing portion (21a) is provided with an annular gasket (40) to be pressed against the upper edge of the body (10) upon the closing of the lid (20) . AMENDED CLAIMS [received by the International Bureau on 17 January 2001 (17.01.01); original claims 1-5 replaced by new claims 1-2 (1 page)] 1. A closure arrangement for cans, whose body (10) is provided with a circular upper edge, to which iε externally incorporated, by a seaming bead (11) , a structural ring (15) over which is removably affixed a seal film ( 30 ) , characterized in that it comprises a metallic lid (20) defined by an upper wall (21) provided with a peripheral sealing portion (21a) and a pending lateral wall (22) incorporating at least one inner shoulder (23) circumscribed by a circumference of diameter (dt) , which, is greater than the outer diameter (d) of the upper edge of the can and smaller than the outer diameter (dc) of the seaming bead (11) , said inner shoulder (23) being obtained by deformation of the entire circumferential extension of the pending lateral wall (22) of the lid (20) shaped to be seated under the seaming bead (11) , thus axially locking the lid (20) in the closed position and keeping its peripheral sealing portion (21a) pressed and hermetically seated onto the upper edge of the body (10) of the can, the pending lateral wall (22 ) being elastically deformable m order to allow the displacement of the inner shoulder (23) over the seaming bead (11) during the opening and reclosing operations of the lid (20) , said peripheral sealing portion (21a) being provided with an annular gasket ( 4 0) to be pressed against the upper edge of the body (10) upon the closing of the lid (20 ) . 2 . T he arrangement of claim 1 , characterized m that t he inner shoulder (23) presents a "V" shaped cross- section with a rounded vertex.

Inventors: ALVARES ANTONIO CARLOS TEIXEIR, DE MASI TUMA JOAO VICENTE, SENE ANTONIO ROBERTO, ALVARES, ANTONIO, CARLOS, TEIXEIRA, DE MASI TUMA, JOAO, VICENTE, SENE, ANTONIO, ROBERTO
Applicants: ALVARES ANTONIO CARLOS TEIXEIR, BRASILATA EMBALAGENS METALICAS, MASI TUMA JOAO VICENTE DE, SENE ANTONIO ROBERTO, ALVARES, ANTONIO, CARLOS, TEIXEIRA, BRASILATA S.A. EMBALAGENS METALICAS, DE MASI TUMA, JOAO, VICENTE, SENE, ANTONIO, ROBERTO
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B65D43
IPC codes: B65D17, B65D43, B65D51, B65D77