Abstract:
A closure device particularly usable for temporarily closing a container for liquids, comprising a first cap, which is provided with first elastically deformable elements for connection to the outer neck of the container; a second coaxial and external cap being slidingly and selectively associated with the first cap and comprising second elements for the temporary activation of the first elements and third elements suitable to remove the closure device from the neck of the container.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a closure device that is particularly suitable for temporarily closing a bottle or more generally a container that can be used for example for liquids such as water or beverages, for creams and hygiene products, for medicines or fluids of other kinds, including gasolines, oils and other derivatives of the refinement of petroleum.  
           [0002]    Bottles provided with single-use closures, such as for example known types of closure commonly known as crown caps, are currently commonly used for example in the food sector.  
           [0003]    Such crown caps, used for example in the bottling of wines and beers in glass bottles, are usually removed from the bottles by applying to the caps a rigid deformation that prevents their re-use in order to obtain a new effective closure of the bottle.  
           [0004]    Another drawback of the known types of crown cap is that the bottling step requires the presence of specific machines that allow to close the lateral edges of the crown caps around the outer rim of the neck of each bottle.  
           [0005]    This makes it particularly onerous to use the crown caps in the domestic and handicraft sector.  
           [0006]    In the field of re-usable caps, bottles. that can be reclosed by means of circular screw caps of a known type are currently commercially available; such caps can be screwed on and off with respect to a complementary thread formed along the outer rim of the circular opening provided at the upper end of the bottles.  
           [0007]    The main drawback of those known types of screw cap is that providing the thread along the inner lateral surfaces increases considerably the complexity of the manufacture of the caps, requiring the use of expensive and complicated machines and molds.  
           [0008]    The disengagement of the caps from the mold in which they have been produced in fact requires the execution of complicated unscrewing movements, which cause the manufacturing process to be slow and expensive and at the same time require constant maintenance of the complex machinery.  
           [0009]    Likewise, the production process required to obtain the preforms for plastic bottles, for example used commonly in the field of food beverages, is complicated and expensive.  
           [0010]    The preforms, obtained by injecting plastic material into a first mold, are then moved into a second larger mold, in which they are subjected to blow-molding.  
           [0011]    As in the case described above of the manufacture of screw caps, the production process of preforms also has the considerable drawback of having to provide a thread at the outer neck of the bottles.  
           [0012]    This leads to the problem of having to provide manufacturing and bottling lines that require a screw-on motion.  
           [0013]    Another important drawback of known types of screw cap is that opening and closing a bottle, or more generally a container, is slow and complicated, since it requires extended rotary screwing and unscrewing motions.  
           [0014]    As in most food products, moreover, in the case of beverage bottles and more generally for many other commercially available products, a first opening seal must be present.  
           [0015]    Such seal is suitable to ensure, by means of its integrity, that no tampering has occurred to the bottle if it uses closures of the reusable type, such as for example in the case of screw caps.  
           [0016]    The seal for known types of screw cap is usually constituted by a ring, which is made of the same material as the screw cap and is arranged outside the neck of the bottle, below the threaded region of said neck.  
           [0017]    At the output of the bottling facilities, the ring is associated with the lower rim of the screw cap, usually at a series of retention points.  
           [0018]    In this manner, unscrewing the cap necessarily breaks the connection in the retention points and therefore causes the visible and permanent mutual separation of the ring and the cap.  
           [0019]    The known type of annular seal described above has the important drawback of requiring the user to generate a considerable unscrewing force; breaking the retention points and performing the first opening are therefore tiring and often difficult, especially if the user is an elderly person, a young person or in any case a person with limited hand strength.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0020]    The aim of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, eliminating the drawbacks of the cited known art, by providing a closure device for containers that allows a considerable simplification of manufacturing processes both for the containers and for the closure devices, with a consequent containment of design and manufacturing costs of the machines intended for said manufacturing processes.  
           [0021]    Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a closure device is that allows to achieve easy closure and opening of the containers, which can be performed easily and simply by any user.  
           [0022]    Another object is to provide a closure device whose manufacture requires the use of machines that are simple because they substantially have no screw-off movements, with a reduction in production and maintenance costs.  
           [0023]    Another object is to provide a closure device that allows to simplify and speed up also the process of bottling said containers.  
           [0024]    Another object is to provide a closure device that has a first opening seal that is effective and at the same time easy to break, so as to ensure easy and simple opening even on the part of particularly weak users.  
           [0025]    Another object is to provide a closure device that is structurally simple and has low manufacturing costs.  
           [0026]    This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a closure device particularly for a container with an outer neck for liquids, characterized in that it comprises a first body which is provided with first elastically deformable means for connection to the outer neck of said container, a second body being slidingly and selectively associated with said first body and being arranged coaxially and externally, said second body comprising second means for temporary activation of said first means and third means for removing said closure device from said neck. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0027]    Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a particular embodiment thereof, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0028]    [0028]FIGS. 1 and 2 are respectively a top perspective view and a bottom perspective view of the first body;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the first body;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIGS. 4 and 5 are respectively a top perspective view and a bottom perspective view of the second body;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the second body;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIGS. 7 and 8 are respectively side sectional views of the second and first bodies;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 9 is a side view of the neck of a bottle with which the invention is associable;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIGS. 10 and 11 are side sectional views of the closure device respectively before and after performing the first connection between the cap and the neck of the bottle;  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 12 is a side sectional view of the invention after breaking the seal in a partially open position;  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 13 is a side sectional view of a different embodiment of the closure device, used for example in the field of glass bottles;  
         [0037]    [0037]FIGS. 14 and 15 are two different side sectional views of a different embodiment of the invention.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0038]    With reference to the figures, the reference numeral  1  designates a closure device that is particularly suitable to be used to temporarily close containers such as for example bottles or flasks.  
         [0039]    Those bottles are usually provided with an upper neck  2 , which is advantageously cylindrical and forms an opening  3  that allows the passage of substances, particularly liquids, from the inside of the bottle toward the outside and vice versa.  
         [0040]    To allow the closure of the opening  3 , which is usually circular, it is possible to use the device  1 , which is constituted by a first body  4  and a second body  5 , which are mutually coaxially associated so as to allow selective sliding along an axial direction.  
         [0041]    The first body  4  is conveniently constituted by a first cap, shown in detail in FIGS.  1  to  3 , whose shape is similar to that of the opening  3  and therefore, in the particular embodiment illustrated here, substantially circular.  
         [0042]    The first body or cap  4  is provided with first connection means that are elastically deformable and are constituted for example by a plurality of wings  6 , which protrude approximately axially from the first perimetric rim, designated by the reference numeral  7 , of the first cap  4 , and are arranged mutually side by side so as to constitute a first crown, designated by the reference numeral  8 .  
         [0043]    The wings  6  are slightly spaced apart and are elastically deformable at least along a radial direction with respect to the shape of the first cap  4 , so as to allow the first crown  8  thus formed to undergo slight variations in its diameter.  
         [0044]    The wings  6  have, at their free ends, grip teeth, generally designated by the reference numeral  9 , which protrude inward so as to allow temporary and selective connection to an annular lip  10 , which protrudes outside the neck  2  of the bottle.  
         [0045]    The annular lip  10  protrudes from the neck  2  at a preset distance from the opening  3  which is approximately equal to the height of the first crown  8  plus the height of the first perimetric rim  7 : in this manner, the teeth  9  grip the lip  10  at the same time when the first upper surface, designated by the reference numeral  11 , of the first cap  4  closes the neck  2  of the bottle (see FIG. 11).  
         [0046]    To allow effective temporary locking of the teeth  9  of the wings  6  on the annular lip  10 , the profile of the lip  10  is approximately trapezoidal, so as to comprise an oblique upper side  10   a,  which is suitable to facilitate the insertion of the first cap  4  over the neck  2  of the bottle, and a lower side  10   b,  which is orientated approximately at right angles to the first lateral surface of the neck  2 , designated by the reference numeral  2   a  in FIG. 9, so as to ensure effective engagement of the grip teeth  9 .  
         [0047]    The first cap  4  preferably also comprises first and/or second sealing means, designated by the reference numerals  12  and  13 , which are suitable to prevent, after achieving the connection between the closure device  1  and the neck  2 , any escape of liquid from the bottle and at the same time ensure tightness against any pressure applied by the contained liquid.  
         [0048]    The first sealing means  12  are constituted for example by one or more circular profiles that protrude inward and in an annular fashion with respect to the first perimetric edge  7 : in the illustrated embodiment, three mutually superimposed circular profiles have been obtained which are suitable to abut, when the device  1  closes, against the lateral surface  2   a  of the neck  2 , thus acting as gaskets.  
         [0049]    The second sealing means  13  can instead be constituted for example by a second crown, which protrudes inside the first upper surface  11  of the first cap  4  and is shaped complementarily to the opening  3 .  
         [0050]    The temporary connection between the grip teeth  9  of the wings  6  and the annular lip  10  is conveniently achieved by way of second means, designated by the reference numeral  14 , for temporarily activating said first means constituted by the wings  6 .  
         [0051]    As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the second means  14  are advantageously constituted by the internal surfaces of the second body  5 , which can be constituted for example by the second cap or cover, shown in detail in FIGS.  4  to  6 , or also by a circular ring, not shown, that surrounds externally the first cap  4  and is provided with stroke limiting means for mutual axial sliding.  
         [0052]    In particular, the second activation means  14  are constituted by a second lateral surface  15   a  and optionally also by a third lateral surface  15   b,  both of which are obtained inside the second perimetric rim, designated by the reference numeral  16 , of the second body or cap  5 .  
         [0053]    The second lateral surface  15   a  is obtained above the third lateral surface  15   b  and is connected to it by means of a recess  17  that is suitable to provide a difference in diameter between said lateral surfaces.  
         [0054]    In particular, the second lateral surface  15   a  is shaped approximately complementarily to the first perimetric rim  7  of the first cap, while the third lateral surface  15   b  has a slightly larger diameter.  
         [0055]    In this way, once the first upper surface  11  of the first cap  4  has been rested on the opening  3  (FIG. 10), a lowering of the second cap  5  on the part of the user forces an axial sliding thereof with respect to the first cap  4 , with interaction between the wings  6  and the second and third lateral surfaces  15   a  and  15   b.    
         [0056]    This interaction forces an elastic deformation of the wings  6 , which are pre-loaded and placed in abutment against the first lateral surface  2   a  of the neck  2  of the bottle, thus ensuring the interconnection between the grip teeth  9  and the annular lip  10  (as shown in FIG. 11).  
         [0057]    In order to facilitate the activation of the first connection means, constituted by the wings  6 , the tips  18  of the wings  6  are provided so as to protrude slightly outward, so as to obtain a shape of the crown  8  that is approximately complementary to the second perimetric rim  16 .  
         [0058]    When the second cap  5  is raised with respect to the first cap  4  (FIG. 12), the previously pre-loaded wings  6  can move away from the first lateral surface  2   a,  disengaging from the annular lip  10  and allowing therefore to remove the closure device  1  from the neck  2  of the bottle.  
         [0059]    To ensure effective disengagement of the wings  6  from the lip  10 , the second cap  5  advantageously has an annular recess, designated by the reference numeral  19 , that is suitable to act as a seat for temporarily containing the protruding tips  18  of the wings  6 .  
         [0060]    The second cap  5  also comprises third means for removing the closure device  1  from the neck  2 , which are advantageously constituted by the annular rim, designated by the reference numeral  20 , of the recess  19 .  
         [0061]    The annular rim  20 , by protruding internally so as to delimit in a lower region the annular recess  19 , when the second cap  5  rises with respect to the first cap, interacts with the tips  18  of the wings  6 , therefore acting as a stroke limiting means and at the same time ensuring the connection between said first and second caps  4  and  5 .  
         [0062]    Moreover, the closure device  1  can comprise fourth means for visually indicating that the first opening of the bottle has occurred.  
         [0063]    The fourth means are constituted for example by a seal  21 , which is obtained advantageously at the second upper surface, designated by the reference numeral  22 , of the second cap  5 , and protrudes downward so as to interact with an approximately complementarily shaped seat  23  formed in the first upper surface  11  of the first cap  4 .  
         [0064]    In the illustrated embodiment, the seal  21  is constituted by a plate  24 , which lies on a plane that is approximately parallel and lower with respect to the plane of the second surface  22  and is associated or monolithically coupled thereto by way of a plurality of tabs, generally designated by the reference numeral  25 .  
         [0065]    In particular, the tabs  25  are preferably equidistant and have at least one weaker region  26 , such as for example a region that has a considerably reduced cross-section with respect to the dimensions of the plate  24 .  
         [0066]    In this manner, once the first closure of the device  1  has occurred and once the second cap  5  has been lowered from the position of FIG. 10 to the position of FIG. 11, the interconnection by interference between third perimetric edge  27  of the plate  24  and the lateral edges of the seat  23  is achieved.  
         [0067]    The plate  24  can be for example substantially circular or oval or cross-shaped, such as the one shown in the figures, or rectangular or square or any other advantageously flat shape, so long as it has third perimetric edges  27  that interact by interference in the seat  23  so as to ensure effective clamping of the plate  24 .  
         [0068]    The interconnection of the plate  24  and the seat  23  must ensure the generation of a force that is greater than the force required to break the tabs  25  at their weaker region  26 .  
         [0069]    This is ensured thanks to an appropriate choice of dimensions for the plate  24  with respect to the seat  23 , so that the elastic deformation that has occurred in the interconnection and the friction between the contact surfaces are such as to cause, when the second body  5  is lifted, the breakage of the tabs  25  and therefore break the seal  21 , as shown in FIG. 12.  
         [0070]    The closure device  1  can be used with bottles or flasks made of plastics or other kinds of container, provided that they have, along the first lateral surface  2   a  of the neck  2 , grip means for the teeth  9  of the wings  6 , such as for example the annular lip  10  shown in the figures.  
         [0071]    [0071]FIG. 13, for example, illustrates the upper part of a known type of glass bottle, commonly used to contain beverages such as wine or beer: like the plastic bottle, in this case also it is possible to associate with the neck  2  of the glass bottle a closure device  1  of appropriate dimensions.  
         [0072]    Operation is therefore as follows: with reference to FIGS. 10, 11 and  12 , the first connection of the closure device to the neck of the bottle consists in resting the device on the opening of the bottle so that the first perimetric rim of the first cap lies outside the first lateral surface of the neck.  
         [0073]    Then the second outer cap is lowered with respect to the first cap, so as to make the wings of the first cap abut against the neck of the bottle, achieving an interconnection between the grip teeth of the wings and the annular lip that protrudes on the outside of said neck.  
         [0074]    At the same time, interconnection occurs between the plate of the seal and the respective seat formed on the upper surface of the first cap.  
         [0075]    The bottle can be opened by removing the closure device and therefore by lifting the second cap.  
         [0076]    In the first upward motion of the second cap, the seal is broken by breaking the tabs that connect the plate to the second cap.  
         [0077]    Then, as the second cap continues to rise with respect to the first one, the third removal means are activated by means of the contact between the annular rim that protrudes downward from the second cap and the tips of the wings of the first cap, which are pre-loaded beforehand and have moved apart so as to occupy at least partially the annular recess formed inside the second perimetric rim of the second cap.  
         [0078]    Further lifting of the second cap entails removing the device and therefore opening the bottle.  
         [0079]    Actually, the opening sequence described above consists of a single movement performed by the user: such movement is very difficult to obtain accidentally, since the lower rim of the device rests adjacent to, or against, the base of the neck of the bottle, as shown in FIG. 11.  
         [0080]    Moreover, if the liquid contained in the bottle is for example sparkling wine, beer or any carbonated beverage, the presence of an internal pressure that is higher than the atmospheric pressure does not entail a danger of accidental removal of the closure device, since the pressure acts on the first inner cap, which is locked between the second cap and the neck, and in no way acts on the second cap.  
         [0081]    It has thus been found that the invention has achieved the intended aim and objects, a closure device for containers having been provided which can be obtained by means of a considerable simplification of the manufacturing processes suitable to manufacture the containers and the closure devices, since it is no longer necessary to perform complicated molding processes to obtain the thread or to perform unscrewing movements in order to follow the thread.  
         [0082]    This leads to a great simplification of the manufacturing process and of the step of the bottling process and to a consequent reduction of design and manufacturing costs of machines intended for these processes.  
         [0083]    At the same time, the closure and opening obtainable with the invention are easy and straightforward and at the same time ensure maximum safety against accidental openings of the container.  
         [0084]    The invention is extremely simple to use even for a first bottling of liquids such as wine, since instruments or machines for bottling are not required: this is particularly advantageous in the case of domestic or handicraft use.  
         [0085]    Moreover, the invention is provided with a first opening seal that is highly effective and at the same time simple, since it can be obtained monolithically with said first or second body.  
         [0086]    The seal can be broken by means of a translational motion or a combined rotational and translational motion, which can be obtained with a limited force since the distance of the rim of the seal from the axis of the device  1  is much smaller than the distance between the point of application of the force and the axis.  
         [0087]    The invention is of course susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. Thus, for example, it is possible to provide a device that is suitable to close containers having non-circular openings, for example oval, rectangular or polygonal openings.  
         [0088]    This leads to the considerable advantage of being able to provide bottle necks, and the corresponding closure devices, whose shape is square, rectangular or in any case different from circular.  
         [0089]    In particular, it is possible to use for example an oil container provided with a closure device according to the invention that is hexagonal and therefore does not require devices commonly known as drip-stops.  
         [0090]    Likewise, the closure device can comprise the first opening seal described above or a seal of another kind, for example associated with the first body rather than with the second body, or might not comprise any type of seal at all.  
         [0091]    The invention can be used not only to close containers for liquids but also, for example, to close jars of jams or creams, bottles or tubes for food substances or medical substances or hygienic substances, and more generally for any fluid, substance or granular material that requires storage or transport.  
         [0092]    In FIGS. 14 and 15, the reference numeral  101  designates a different embodiment of the closure device that can be used particularly for example to close containers for carbonated beverages.  
         [0093]    The device  101  is constituted by a first body  104  and a second body  105 , which are mutually coaxially associated so as to allow selective sliding along an axial direction.  
         [0094]    The first body  104  is shaped like the first body  4  described above, and therefore has first elastically deformable connection means constituted by a plurality of wings  106 , which protrude axially from the first perimetric rim  107  of the first body  104 .  
         [0095]    The wings  106  have, at their free ends, engagement hooks or teeth  109 , which protrude inward so as to allow temporary and selective connection to an annular lip  110 , which protrudes externally and perimetrically with respect to the neck, designated by the reference numeral  102 , of the bottle.  
         [0096]    The temporary connection between the grip teeth  109  of the wings  106  and the annular lip  110  of the bottle is achieved by way of second means  114  for temporarily activating the first means or wings  106 .  
         [0097]    In particular, the second means  114  are constituted by the internal surface, designated by the reference numeral  115 , of the second body  105 , which is constituted for example by a cap that surrounds at least partially the first body  104 .  
         [0098]    As in the previous embodiment, when the second body  105  is moved down over the first body  104 , the first means close around the neck  102  of the bottle and therefore the bottle is clamped.  
         [0099]    In this embodiment, the lowering of the second body  105  is also accompanied by the closure, by means of a protrusion  180  that protrudes centrally and downward with respect to the second body  105 , of a complementarily shaped hole, not shown in the figures, which is obtained in the first upper surface  111  of the first body  104 .  
         [0100]    In this manner, when the second body  105  is first lifted with respect to the first body  104 , the protrusion  180  disengages from the respective hole, allowing the escape of the excess gases and therefore the balancing of the internal pressure and of the external pressure before the bottle is opened completely.  
         [0101]    The materials used, as well as the dimensions that constitute the individual components of the invention, may of course be more pertinent according to specific requirements.  
         [0102]    The various means for performing certain different functions need not certainly coexist only in the illustrated embodiment but can be present per se in many embodiments, including ones that are not illustrated.  
         [0103]    The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. TV2002A000025 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.