Abstract:
The invention relates to a cover for beverage cans, which provides the user with a guarantee of hygiene and which enables the user to see if the container has been interfered with and, consequently, if the hygiene guarantee has been violated. The invention is characterised in that the cover consists of a specific hollow body comprising two segments in the form of a housing which facilitates the incorporation of advertising elements. The invention is also characterised in that it comprises a sealing element having a particular structure.

Description:
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     As stated in the title of this descriptive specification, the present invention relates to a cover for beverage cans which enable the best hygienic conditions to be obtained when consuming the product and thereby guarantee consumers that the surface coming into contact with their lips has been protected from the outside at all times, thus offering users a guarantee of hygiene, which permits them to drink directly from the can without any risk or fear. During canning, the can will be subjected to optimum hygienic conditions which will be preserved if this cover is positioned at the end of the canning process.  
         [0002]     Moreover, it enables the user to distinguish at a glance whether the can has been manipulated and its hygiene guarantee has thus been violated.  
       PRIOR ART OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     There currently exist beverage cans which incorporate protective covers which are coupled in correspondence with the upper base where the opening device for that cover is to be found. All this is in order to preserve the cleanliness and hygiene of the can, precisely in the area of opening via which the user afterwards drinks or pours the contents.  
         [0004]     For example, Utility Model No. 9502598 comprises a protective and hygienic cover for beverage cans which basically consists of a hollow cylindrical body in the form of a shallow pan, whose side wall includes a U-shaped extension as a continuation of that side wall. Said extension serves as an element allowing the cover of the can to be withdrawn more easily.  
         [0005]     Another cover corresponds for example to Utility Model No. 200101910.  
         [0006]     There also exists a registration which consists of a cover for beverage cans which incorporates a safety sealing element joined via some breakage appendages to the free edge of the main body of this cover, said body having the general shape of a pan in such a way that this pre-sealing element enables us to check at a glance whether the container has been manipulated.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The cover for beverage cans constituting the inventive object is characterised in that it comprises a main body formed in principle from two hollow cylindrical segments in the form of a shallow pan having little height, a lower one which is coupled in correspondence with the upper base of the can in order to protect it and an upper segment constituting a housing in which can be stored elements for games or advertising such as counters or “chaps” which are also to be found in bags of potato crisps, for example, and which children use for playing. Located in that upper base is the opening ring.  
         [0008]     Stickers and transfers can also be attached, and in short anything which the company in question considers appropriate as a means of promotion and which have the necessary dimensions for fitting into said space of the upper segment.  
         [0009]     The upper segment will normally have a smaller dimension than the lower segment.  
         [0010]     It can also be pointed out that the upper segment can be off-centred, and it is even possible for said upper segment to have a shape other than circular.  
         [0011]     The free edge of the lower segment is suitable for incorporating an annular projection directed towards the inside in order to ensure that the lower segment is secured to the can in correspondence with its upper base.  
         [0012]     This same edge of the lower segment also includes a small lateral tab directed outwards so that the cover unit can be withdrawn more easily.  
         [0013]     The upper base of the cover is demarcated by a thickened rim projecting towards the outside, beneath which an inclined surface is defined converging upwards which forms part of the perimeter wall of the can, this inclined surface ending in a depressed area above which is to be found the thickened rim.  
         [0014]     In another embodiment of the cover, the annular projection is done away with and it includes on the other hand a sealing element characterized in that it comprises an annular body joined to the free edge of the main body by means of some breakage appendages, in such a way that this annular body possesses a segment projecting towards the inside which is located in the lowest part of the depressed zone demarcated between the perimeter rim of the can and the inclined surface converging upwards. In that deepest part, the annular projection of the first embodiment will also fit.  
         [0015]     The side tab is provided in order to facilitate the handling of the cover unit for its opening, in such a way that, when the sealing element is included, when that tab is pulled upwards the main body of the cover will come away, with the separation being produced via the breakage appendages, the sealing element remaining associated with the can and revealing whether that can has been manipulated.  
         [0016]     The sealing element remains associated with the can since its internal diameter is less than the diameter of the thickened rim and its extraction is not possible.  
         [0017]     Below, in order to aid a better understanding of this descriptive specification and forming an integral part thereof, some figures are attached in which, on an illustrative rather than limiting basis, the object of the invention has been represented. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]      FIG. 1 .—Shows a perspective view of the cover for beverage cans, forming the object of the invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 2 .—Shows a view in cross-section of the inventive cover.  
         [0020]      FIG. 3 .—Shows a view in cross-section of the cover with a different embodiment from that shown in the above figures. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE MANNER OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0021]     Considering the numbering adopted in the figures, in a first embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the cover for beverage cans is defined on the basis of a hollow main body  1  which in principle comprises a larger lower segment in the form of a pan  2  and a hollow upper segment  3 , also in the form of a pan, which starts from the base of the first lower segment  2 .  
         [0022]     Emerging from the free edge of the lower segment  2  is a perimetric projection  4  directed towards the inside in order to ensure the securing of the cover unit on the beverage can. Also emerging from this free edge, though towards the outside, is a small lateral flap  5  for withdrawing and separating the cover of the corresponding can  6 .  
         [0023]     Within the interior hollow defined by the upper segment  3  elements of games can be introduced. Also, on the flat outer segment of the base  7  of the upper segment  3 , any message and/or promotional action can be printed and/or stamped on its interior and/or exterior.  
         [0024]     Moreover, the resulting annular surface  8  of the lower segment corresponding to its base can also be used for the same advertising ends as the base  7  of the upper segment  3 .  
         [0025]     The upper base  9  of the can  6  where the opening ring  10  is to be found is demarcated by a thickened rim  11 , beneath which there exists a depressed channel  12  where ends a lower inclined surface  13  of the side wall of the can  6 , this inclined surface being convergent upwards until it ends in that depressed channel  12  where the perimetric projection  4  of the corresponding cover will be secured.  
         [0026]     In a second embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the main body  1 ′ of the cover unit lacks the perimetric projection  4  for ensuring its connection to the can, and instead incorporates a sealing element defined by an annular body  14  which is joined to the lower segment  2  by means of some small breakage appendages  15 , that annular body  14  constituting a sealing element which reveals whether the cover has been manipulated, since on attempting to open that cover, the breakage will take place of the small appendages  15 , this being a feature that will be easily visible, the sealing element being at all times associated with the corresponding can  6 .  
         [0027]     In order to achieve this, the sealing element  14  incorporates a segment projecting towards the inside located in the depressed channel  12  of the can  6 , in such a way that the sealing element  14  will be connected to the can  6  without it being able to be extracted, since its internal diameter is less than the diameter of the thickened rim  11  of the upper base  9  of the corresponding can  6 .