Closure Device for Containers for Beverages or Other Liquids

Abstract

A device is fitted with a pouring tube which can be raised after opening a blocking-off cover and which can then be folded back down, as also can the cover, to close the container again hermetically so as to preserve a remaining portion of the beverage for consumption at a later time. A locking arrangement which breaks when the cover is opened for the first time tells the purchaser or consumer that the container is intact or that it has already been opened. The present security closure device always keeps the pouring tube in a hygienic state of a standard appropriate for foodstuffs and keeps the contents of the container free of any soiling or external contamination. The security closure device, which is small in thickness, is simple to fix to the top of any current container and, in particular to any carton made of cardboard or a similar material.

1 . Closure device for a container for beverages or other liquids, comprising a base ( 11 ) having a cavity ( 20 ) whose bottom is pierced by an opening ( 21 ), a blocking-off cover ( 13 ) which is attached to the base by a hinge element in such a way as to be able to pivot between a position in which it is lowered onto the top of the base and a position in which it is raised towards the outside of the base, and a relatively rigid pouring tube ( 17 ) having a free end and an end which is attached to the base by a hinge element in such a way as to be able to pivot between a lowered position and a position in which it is raised towards the top of the base ( 11 ), that part of the periphery of the pouring tube ( 17 ) which is not attached to the base ( 11 ) being connected to part of the perimeter of the said opening ( 21 ) by a flexible sealing membrane ( 22 ), characterised in that the top face of the base ( 11 ) has a projecting edging ( 15 ) around the periphery of the cavity ( 20 ), and the inside face of the cover ( 13 ) has a projecting edging ( 15 ) around its periphery which is not attached to the base, in such a way as to fit round at least part of the projecting edging ( 12 ) on the base ( 11 ) when the cover is in the lowered position, above the pouring tube ( 17 ) which is in the lowered position, the said edging ( 15 ) being connected to the base by a security member ( 18 ) which is secured to the base, the said locking member breaking when the free end of the cover ( 13 ) is raised to open the cover. 
     
     
         2 . Device according to  claim 1 , characterised in that the security member ( 16 ) projects in a position outside the projecting edging ( 12 ) on the base ( 11 ) in such a way that its end is hooked into an orifice ( 19 ) which is formed in the edging ( 15 ) of the cover ( 13 ). 
     
     
         3 . Device according to  claim 1 , characterised in that the bottom end of the pouring tube ( 17 ) has an extension ( 24 ) which, when the pouring tube is in the lowered position, fits into a recess ( 26 ) which is arranged in the base ( 11 ), the end of the said extension ( 24 ) carrying a point ( 25 ), the said extension ( 24 ) extending below the bottom face of the base ( 11 ) when the pouring tube ( 17 ) is brought to its raised position. 
     
     
         4 . Device according to  claim 1 , characterised in that it is moulded in one piece 
     
     
         5 . Device according to  claim 1 , characterised in that the flat base ( 11 ) is so formed as to have at least one air-inlet hole within the cavity ( 20 ), the said air-inlet hole being blocked off when the cover or the pouring tube is in the lowered position. 
     
     
         6 . Container for beverages fitted with a closure device according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         7 . Device according to  claim 2 , characterised in that the bottom end of the pouring tube ( 17 ) has an extension ( 24 ) which, when the pouring tube is in the lowered position, fits into a recess ( 26 ) which is arranged in the base ( 11 ), the end of the said extension ( 24 ) carrying a point ( 25 ), the said extension ( 24 ) extending below the bottom face of the base ( 11 ) when the pouring tube ( 17 ) is brought to its raised position. 
     
     
         8 . Device according to  claim 2 , characterised in that it is moulded in one piece 
     
     
         9 . Device according to  claim 3 , characterised in that it is moulded in one piece 
     
     
         10 . Device according to  claim 2 , characterised in that the flat base ( 11 ) is so formed as to have at least one air-inlet hole within the cavity ( 20 ), the said air-inlet hole being blocked off when the cover or the pouring tube is in the lowered position. 
     
     
         11 . Device according to  claim 3 , characterised in that the flat base ( 11 ) is so formed as to have at least one air-inlet hole within the cavity ( 20 ), the said air-inlet hole being blocked off when the cover or the pouring tube is in the lowered position. 
     
     
         12 . Device according to  claim 4 , characterised in that the flat base ( 11 ) is so formed as to have at least one air-inlet hole within the cavity ( 20 ), the said air-inlet hole being blocked off when the cover or the pouring tube is in the lowered position.