MC367A1 - Tamper-evident cap preventing container filling - Google Patents

Description

PATENT for "INVENTION"

Tamper-evident cap preventing the container from being filled

Public limited company known as: PERNOD

Many tamper-evident stoppers already exist, consisting of a hollow body inserted into the bottle neck and equipped internally with baffles—preventing access to a valve. Previous devices have several drawbacks, as the tamper-evident nature of such a stopper can only be truly achieved at the expense of liquid flow when emptying the bottle.

The present invention provides a novel solution which allows the complete inviolability of the stopper to be maintained, while allowing a significant flow of liquid.

To this end, the invention relates to a tamper-evident stopper comprising a hollow body which is to be inserted into a bottle neck and which can be closed internally by a lower flap above which extend baffles which make it inaccessible from the outside while allowing the flow of fluids, characterized in that inside the hollow body there is provided a continuous longitudinal partition which determines two independent channels leading to two distinct orifices each forming a seat for a gravity-operated flap cooperating with an upper stop forming an element of the baffles.

Other ancillary features of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description below,

made with reference to the attached drawing.

Of course, the description and drawing are given only as an indicative example and are not exhaustive.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a stopper according to the invention mounted on a bottle neck.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a particular embodiment.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view with partial section of a cap according to another embodiment.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a bottle fitted with the stopper made according to Figure 4.

As shown in the drawing (Figures 1 and 2), the cap, according to the invention, comprises: a body

Figures 6 to 8 are cross-sectional views taken respectively along lines YX-VI, VXI-YII, and VIII-VIII of Figure 4. Figure 9 is a view whose plane passes through line IX-IX of Figure 5.

cylindrical 1 connected to a cylindrical cavity 2, by a collar 3, the cavity 2 is closed at its lower part by a wall 2a, pierced with two orifices 4 and 5.

The body 1 and the cavity 2 are divided into two independent channels 6 and 7 by a continuous longitudinal partition 8. The orifices 4 and 5 are located opposite the channels 6 and 7 and each form a seat for valves consisting here of balls 9 and 10. Above the balls 9 and 10 is a plate 11 which is integral with the partition 8 and which only partially obstructs the cavity 2 in order to act as a retaining element for the balls 9 and 10, while allowing the passage of liquid. The opening of the collar 3 is substantially oval in shape with its long axis perpendicular to the partition 8.

When the bottle 12 on which the stopper is mounted is tilted, the balls 9 and 10 leave their seat and hit the plate 11. The balls 9 and 10 are guided in their movement by the partition 8 and the wall of the cavity 2, on the one hand, and by bars 13 on the other hand, which are fixed to the plate 11 and which extend to the wall 2a - it would be possible to make the bars 13 fixed to the wall 2a or even to both the plate 11 and the wall 2a -.

The body 1 is engaged in a compressible material sleeve 14 which is placed like a stopper in the neck of the bottle 12. The stopper placed in the neck is sealed flush with the mouth of said neck by an annular capsule 15 made of a non-tearable material.

Finally, the body 1 is sealed at its upper part by a removable cap 16 screwed onto the body 1,

threaded for this purpose. So that the cap does not form too large a protrusion, the sleeve 14 includes a housing into which the cap 16 is inserted, this cap 16 protruding slightly so that it can be gripped and unscrewed from its upper part which is threaded on its periphery.

the bottle ready for sale is fitted with a tear-off cap 17, inserted between the neck of the bottle 12 and the ring cap 15, this "cap 17" being able to receive a control seal.

To empty the bottle, first tear off cap 17, then unscrew cap 16, and to close the bottle screw cap 16 back on.

The operation of the stopper just described is easily understood; indeed, when the bottle is tilted to empty it, the balls leave their seats and come to rest against the plate 11, the liquid passing into the cavity 2 and the body 1, bypassing the plate 11 and the collar 3. The balls 9 and 10 are guided in their movement by the bars 13 and are pushed against the orifices 4 and 5 by their weight or by the liquid that could be fraudulently introduced through the inside of the body 1. The collar 3 and the plate 11 together form a baffle which prevents access to the balls 9 and 10 by introducing, for example, a metal wire.

The provision of the hollow *urps 1 and a larger diameter cavity 2 prevents this assembly from being removed from the sleeve 14. The dimensions of the plate 11 also prevent fraudulent extraction from the body 1.

of partition 8 attached to said platform 11.

According to the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the balls 9 and 10 are retained by a part 18 which is provided with two cavities 18a and 18b in which the balls 9 and 10 engage, at least in part.

When the bottle is tilted to empty its contents, the remaining space between wall 2a and part 18 is less than the diameter of balls 9 and 10 so that they cannot escape or get stuck.

To prevent the bottle from being fraudulently filled by submerging it upside down in a container filled with liquid, part 18 has passages 18c and 18d that pass through part 18 and open into the bottom of cavities 18a and 18b; in this way the

"33 "S=> *

liquid entering body 1 through its upper end passes through passages 18c and 18d and pushes balls 9 and 10 against the seat of orifices 4 and 5; passages 18c and 18d preferably extend at a certain angle to the vertical so that a metal wire cannot be introduced into them.

Referring now to figures 4 and 5 we see that the hollow body 1 is open at its lower part and contains an assembly in one piece constituting a base 20 fitted into the hollow body 1, a first part 21 of longitudinal partition and three baffle elements 22, 23 and 24, the latter being the stop piece for balls 9 and 10.

the second part 25 of the longitudinal partition is integral with the body 1 and extends along a diameter of the latter.

So that both parts 21 and 25 of the

longitudinal partitions are always in line with each other, that is to say that the angular position of part 21 and bottom 20 is well determined in relation to part 25 and body 1, the latter having ribs 26 which correspond to notches 27 and 28 on the baffle elements 22 and 24* In this way, the assembly 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 can only penetrate body 1 if notches 27 and 28 are opposite ribs 26, that is to say if parts 21 and 25 of the longitudinal partition are in line with each other; Balls 9 and 10 are guided here, on the one hand, by projections 30 that are integral with the bottom 20, the partition 21 and the baffle element 24 and, on the other hand, by the ribs 26 which are, with respect to each ball, diametrically opposite the projections 30.

The bottom 20 is fitted into the body 1 by elastic deformation of the latter because, for its locking, the bottom 20 fits into an internal groove 31 of the body 1.

The upper part of the body 1 has an outside diameter which allows it to be pushed directly into the neck of the bottle and has a collar 32 which must rest on the top of the neck and receive a non-tearable cap.

The cap 16 is press-fitted into a groove 33 and has a rim 34 which facilitates its removal.

The internal part of the bottle, that is to say the assembly of the base 20, the partition element 21 and the baffles 22, 23 and 24, is limited at its upper part by the baffle 22 so that this internal part cannot be grasped from the outside to fraudulently fill the bottle. Indeed, one can press on the baffle 22 on either side of the element

partition 25 is used to push down the entire internal part of the stopper and detach the base 20 from the body 1 (without, however, causing the internal part to fall out). It is then possible to fill the bottle because the liquid can pass between the base 20 and the body 1. But it is then impossible to put the internal part back in place, and the fraud is clearly revealed.

It is clear from the description above that the tamper-evident cap is divided into two channels 6 and 7 by the continuous longitudinal partition 8, so that when the bottle 12 is tilted, the liquid flows spontaneously through one of the channels, while air enters through the other. The liquid flow rate is thus made very high, even though the opening through which the liquid passes is not very large compared to the internal diameter of the bottle's neck. These features are reminiscent of the operation of well-known pouring spouts and allow the liquid to flow from the bottle even when it is inverted vertically. This capability is essential for the efficient use of the bottles, particularly when using a fixed dispenser to which the bottle is secured in an inverted vertical position.

The tamper-evident stopper, as just described, is advantageously made of cheap synthetic material, the balls -9 and 10 being able to be made for example of metal, glass, etc.

Claims (15)

DEMANDS 1 - Tamper-evident stopper comprising a hollow body which is to be inserted into a bottle neck and which can be internally sealed by a lower flap above which extend baffles which render it inaccessible from the outside while allowing the flow of fluids, characterized in that Inside the hollow body there is a continuous longitudinal partition which defines two independent channels leading to two separate orifices each forming a seat for a gravity-operated valve cooperating with an upper stop forming an element of the baffles. 2 - Plug according to claim 1 characterized in that lateral guides for the valves are provided between the seat and the felt. 3 - Stopper according to claim 1 characterized in that the upper end of the hollow body is introduced into the neck of the bottle by means of a compressible sleeve. 4 - Plug according to claim 1 characterized in that orifices are provided in the upper stop to push the flaps back towards their seat during an attempt at fraudulent filling. 5 - Plug according to claim 1 characterized in that the hollow body is made up of two elements of different diameters joined together after insertion of the partition carrying the stops housed in the element of larger diameter. 6 - Stopper according to claims 1 to 4 characterized in that it is constituted partly from a hollow body of a single piece, of a single internal diameter, and comprising at its 9 - upper part a partition element and, on the other hand, an internal part comprising the other partition element, the bottom of the hollow body, the valve seats, their stops, their guides and the baffles. 5.7 - Stopper according to claims 1 to 4 and 6, characterized The design is characterized by guide elements being provided inside the hollow body and outside the internal part to align the two partition elements with each other. » 8 - Plug according to claim 7 characterized in that the guiding elements are constituted by notches on the baffle elements and the stops of the valves cooperating with ribs on the inner face of the hollow body, ribs which at the same time serve at their lower part to guide the valves. 15.9 — Stopper according to claims 1 to 4 and e to 8 characterized in that the internal part has, right at its upper end, i.e. at the junction of the two partition elements, a baffle element preventing the lower partition element from being grasped. nine pages Société Anonyme dite: PERNOD. ORIGINAL 6' in — pages containing —References to added word—it crossed-out word null By proxy da "Ojût&Utj @L.e, CLj ° {fR.no o Jp^rë"IllRAU Industrial Property Consultant 28, Boulevard Princesse Charlotte, 2nd floor, Monte Carlo