Bottle Cap, Container and Method for Opening the Container

This application is a national stage of International PCT Application No. PCT/PCT/CN2023/081813, filed on Mar. 16, 2023, which claims priority to Chinese Application No. 202210264558.5, filed on Mar. 17, 2022, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of containers, and specifically to a bottle cap, a container, and a method for opening the container.

Containers, such as beverage bottles, include a bottle body and a bottle cap, and can be used to hold fluid products. A generic structure of a container is that: a mouth of the bottle body is provided with screw threads, a bottle ring is disposed under the screw threads, and the bottle cap includes a cap body and a cap ring which can be separated.

In an initial state, the cap body is screwed on the mouth, the cap ring is fixed on the bottle ring, and the cap body is connected to the cap ring by tiny plastic strips.

When opening the bottle cap, rotate the cap body to break the tiny plastic strips, take the cap body from the mouth, and the cap ring stays on the bottle ring, so that the cap body is separated from the cap ring. After use, screw the cap body back on the mouth. When using again, repeat the above actions, unscrew the cap body from the mouth, separate the cap body from the cap ring, and screw the cap body back again after use.

In the above containers, due to the separation of the cap body and the cap ring, the cap body is often not found after use. In addition, when recycling, due to the easy loss of the cap body, labor costs and other problems, it is very difficult to recycle the cap body alone, which causes resource waste and environmental pollution.

It is to be noted that the information described in the background above is intended only to enhance understanding of the context of the present disclosure and may include information that does not constitute prior art known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

In view of the above, the present disclosure provides a bottle cap, a container and a method for opening the container. Wherein, the bottle cap includes a cap body and a cap ring which are connected, the bottle cap is always connected to the container during use and will not be lost, thereby facilitating users to use and enhancing the recycling rate of the bottle cap. In addition, the bottle cap has low manufacturing cost and can be applied to high-speed production lines.

One aspect of the present disclosure provides a bottle cap. The bottle cap includes a cap body and a cap ring which are connected. The cap body is provided with an extension strip, and a first end of the extension strip is integrally connected to the cap body. The cap ring is provided with an avoidance part for the extension strip to pass through and a U-shaped strip encircling the extension strip, an opening of the U-shaped strip is integrally connected to the avoidance part, and a bottom of the U-shaped strip is integrally connected to a second end of the extension strip. Wherein breakable connecting teeth are provided between the cap body and the cap ring, between side walls of the extension strip and the U-shaped strip, and between side walls of the U-shaped strip and the avoidance part.

In some embodiments, during an opening process of the bottle cap, as the cap body spirals up along a bottle mouth of a container, the cap ring is buckled to a limiting ring under the bottle mouth and rotates, the connecting teeth are broken, and the extension strip and the U-shaped strip are pulled apart until the cap body leaves the bottle mouth.

In some embodiments, a total length of the extension strip and the U-shaped strip when pulled apart is greater than a height of the bottle mouth.

In some embodiments, when the opening process of the bottle cap is completed, the cap body is connected to the limiting ring through the extension strip, the U-shaped strip and the cap ring in turn.

In some embodiments, when the bottle cap is in an initial closed state, the cap body is tightened on a bottle mouth of a container, the cap ring is fastened on a limiting ring under the bottle mouth, and the extension strip and the U-shaped strip are locked on the avoidance part.

In some embodiments, the extension strip starts from an opening end of the cap body and extends in a direction away from a closed end of the cap body; the avoidance part is formed as a door shaped groove with a disconnected part at a top, the extension strip passes through the disconnected part of the door shaped groove, and the opening of the U-shaped strip is integrally connected to a lower end face of the disconnected part.

In some embodiments, the extension strip and the U-shaped strip are fully accommodated in the avoidance part, or the extension strip and the U-shaped strip are partially accommodated in the avoidance part.

In some embodiments, the cap body, the extension strip, the U-shaped strip, the cap ring and the connecting teeth are integrally injection molded.

A further aspect of the present disclosure provides a container including a bottle mouth provided with screw threads and a limiting ring disposed under the bottle mouth, wherein the container further includes the bottle cap according to any of the above embodiments. The cap body is screwed on the bottle mouth, and the screw threads are at least used to tighten the cap body when in an initial closed state and to provide a screw-up stroke for the cap body during an opening process. The cap ring is buckled on the limiting ring, and the limiting ring is used to fasten the cap ring when in the initial closed state and to always limit axial movement of the cap ring.

In some embodiments, the container further includes a clamping ring provided on a bottle neck of the container; when an outer diameter of the clamping ring is greater than an outer diameter of the cap ring, both the extension strip and the U-shaped strip are in a stepped shape to avoid the clamping ring and extend toward a bottle body of the container.

A further aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for opening the container, the method includes a first stroke and a second stroke of continuously rotating the bottle body in a first clockwise direction; during the first stroke, as the cap body spirals up, the cap ring rotates and the connecting teeth are broken; during the second stroke, as the cap body spirals up, the cap ring rotates and the extension strip and the U-shaped strip are pulled apart until the cap body leaves the bottle mouth and is connected to the limiting ring through the cap ring.

Compared to the prior art, the present disclosure has at least the following beneficial effects.

The bottle cap of the present disclosure includes the cap body and the cap ring which are connected, the cap body and the cap ring are always connected together.

In the initial closed state, the cap ring is fastened on the limiting ring under the bottle mouth of the container, the cap body is tightened on the bottle mouth, and the cap body is locked on the cap ring by the vertical tiny connecting teeth, which ensures the stability of the bottle cap and avoids loosening of the bottle cap during transportation, storage, and so on.

In the initial closed state, the avoidance part breaks the initial continuity of the cap ring. However, the extension strip integrally connected with the cap body passes through the avoidance part of the cap ring and is wrapped by the U-shaped strip integrally connected with the avoidance part of the cap ring, furthermore the extension strip, the U-shaped strip and the avoidance part are locked together by horizontal tiny connecting teeth, so that the stability of the cap ring can be ensured. As a result, the cap ring is formed as a continuous ring structure and ensures that the extension strip and the U-shaped strip are tightly attached to the bottle mouth to avoid warping and deformation.

In the opening process, as the cap body spirals up, the cap ring is always buckled to the limiting ring and rotate, so that the connecting teeth are broken, and the extension strip and the U-shaped strip are pulled apart, making the cap body leave the bottle mouth smoothly.

When the opening process is completed, the cap body is still connected to the limiting ring through the cap ring to avoid falling and losing, and it is convenient to screw the cap body back to the bottle mouth after use.

The bottle cap of the present disclosure can always be connected with the container as long as it is assembled to the container, which not only facilitates the use, but also enhances the recycling rate of the bottle cap, realizes the recycling of resources, and protects the environment. In addition, the bottle cap has low manufacturing cost and high productivity, which makes it suitable for high-speed production lines.

It should be understood that the above general description and the detailed description that follows are exemplary and explanatory only and do not limit the present disclosure.

Example embodiments will now be fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The example embodiments can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described here. Rather, these embodiments are provided to make the present disclosure comprehensive and complete, and to transmit the conception of the example embodiments comprehensively to those skilled in the art.

The accompanying drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily to scale. The same reference symbols in the accompanying drawings indicate the same or similar structures, so their repeated descriptions will be omitted.

In addition, the process shown in the accompanying drawings is only an exemplary illustration and it is not necessary to include all steps. For example, some steps may be broken down, and some steps may be combined or partially combined. Terms “first”, “second” and the like used in the specific description do not indicate any order, number or importance, but are merely used to distinguish the different components. It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, embodiments of the present disclosure and features in different embodiments may be combined with each other.

Furthermore, in order to clearly show the structure of the bottle cap and the relation between the bottle cap and the container, the accompanying drawings only show the bottle cap and the bottle mouth of the container, which should not be taken as a limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. The present disclosure provides a separate bottle cap, a container containing the bottle cap, and a method for opening the container.

shows a front view structure of a bottle cap in an embodiment, with reference to, the bottle cap provided by the present embodiment includes a cap bodyand a cap ringwhich are connected. The cap bodyis provided with an extension strip, and a first endof the extension stripis integrally connected to the cap body. The cap ringis provided with an avoidance partfor the extension stripto pass through and a U-shaped stripencircling the extension strip, an openingof the U-shaped stripis integrally connected to the avoidance part, and a bottomof the U-shaped stripis integrally connected to a second endof the extension strip. Wherein breakable connecting teethare provided between the cap bodyand the cap ring, between side walls of the extension stripand the U-shaped strip, and between side walls of the U-shaped stripand the avoidance part.

The bottle cap described above includes the cap bodyand the cap ringwhich are connected, and the cap bodyand the cap ringare always connected together.

shows a sectional structure of the bottle cap in an embodiment, with reference to, in an initial closed state, the cap bodyis tightened on a bottle mouthof a container, the cap ringis fastened on a limiting ringunder the bottle mouth, and the extension stripand the U-shaped stripare locked on the avoidance part.

Since the cap ringis fastened on the limiting ring, the cap bodyis tightened on the bottle mouth, and the cap bodyis locked on the cap ringby the vertical tiny connecting teeth, the stability of the bottle cap can be ensured, thereby avoiding loosening of the bottle cap during transportation, storage, and so on.

To some extent, the avoidance partbreaks the initial continuity of the cap ring. However, the extension stripintegrally connected with the cap bodypasses through the avoidance partof the cap ringand is wrapped by the U-shaped stripintegrally connected with the avoidance partof the cap ring, and the extension strip, the U-shaped stripand the avoidance partare locked together by horizontal tiny connecting teeth, so that the stability of the cap ringcan be ensured. As a result, the cap ringis formed as a continuous ring structure. Furthermore, the connecting teethformed between the extension strip, the U-shaped stripand the avoidance partensures that the extension stripand the U-shaped stripare tightly adhered to the bottle mouthto avoid warping and deformation.

shows a structure of the bottle cap after its connecting teeth broken in an embodiment,shows a structure of the cap body of the bottle cap spiraling up in the embodiment,shows a structure of the cap body of the bottle cap leaving the bottle mouth in the embodiment. With reference to, during an opening process of the bottle cap, as the cap bodyspirals up along the bottle mouthof the container, the cap ringis buckled to a limiting ringunder the bottle mouthand rotates, the connecting teethare broken, and the extension stripand the U-shaped stripare pulled apart until the cap bodyleaves the bottle mouth.

Specifically, during the opening process, the cap bodyis continuously rotated in an opening direction, for example in a counterclockwise direction R. Due to the action of the connecting teeth, the extension stripand the U-shaped strip, the cap ringis driven by the cap bodyand at the same time the cap ringis restricted from axial movement by the limiting ring. Therefore, as the cap bodyspirals up, the cap ringis always buckled to the limiting ringand rotated accordingly.

When the cap bodyis moved up a certain distance, due to the force between the cap bodyand the cap ring, the connecting teethare broken as shown in. As a result of the breakage of the connecting teeth, the extension stripand the U-shaped stripare slightly warped to facilitate the extension stripand U-shaped stripbeing gradually pulled apart.

As the cap bodycontinues to move up, as shown in, the extension stripand the U-shaped stripwill be pulled apart in a height direction Y to ensure that the cap bodycontinues to spiral up along the screw threads of the bottle mouth. The design of the extension stripand the U-shaped stripneeds to ensure that a total length of the two when pulled apart is greater than a height of the bottle mouth, so that the cap bodycan leave the bottle mouthsuccessfully.

As shown in, in the present disclosure, touching ends of the extension stripand the U-shaped strip(i.e., the second endof the extension stripand the bottomof the U-shaped strip) are integrally connected, non-contacting ends of the two (i.e., the first endof the extension stripand the openingof the U-shaped strip) are integrally connected to the cap bodyand the cap ring, respectively, and the U-shaped stripencircles the extension strip. Therefore, on the one hand, self-length of extension stripand U-shaped stripcan be fully utilized to make the total length of extension stripand U-shaped stripafter being pulled apart is close to (slightly less than) the sum of their own lengths. On the other hand, the extension stripand the U-shaped stripdo not take up too much space at the closed state, so as to make the bottle cap stable and almost not increase the overall volume of the bottle cap.

Continuing to rotate the cap body, the cap bodycan leave from the bottle mouthas shown in. In the state of completing the opening process, the cap bodyis connected to the limiting ringthrough the extension strip, the U-shaped stripand the cap ringin turn, which can avoid the cap bodyfrom falling and being lost, and it is convenient to screw the cap bodyback to the bottle mouthafter use.

When the opening process is completed, due to existence and connection of the extension stripand the U-shaped strip, the cap bodywill leave the bottle mouthfor a certain distance (the distance of the cap bodyleaving the bottle mouthis slightly less than the total length of the extension stripand the U-shaped stripafter being pulled apart). In this way, users can easily drink the beverage contained in the containerfrom the bottle mouth, the use of the bottle mouthwill not be affected since the cap bodyis too close to the bottle mouth. Furthermore, and the extension stripand the U-shaped striphave a certain strength, which will not cause the cap bodyto shake randomly, and can realize that the cap bodystays in the vicinity of the bottle mouthat a suitable distance under the opening state.

After use, the cap bodycan be screwed back to the bottle mouth. When the cap bodyis screwed on tightly, the extension stripwill be stowed in the U-shaped stripand the extension stripand the U-shaped stripwill be returned to the avoidance partof the cap ringas shown in.

The bottle cap described above can always be connected to the containeras long as it is assembled to the container, which is not only convenient to use, but also enhances the recycling rate of the bottle cap, realizes the recycling of resources and protects the environment.

Moreover, components of the bottle cap, i.e., the cap body, the extension strip, the U-shaped strip, the cap ringand the connecting teethare integrally injection molded to form the bottle cap, which is able to reduce the injection cost of the bottle cap, facilitate demoulding, avoid jamming, improve the production efficiency, and facilitate the capping of the bottle cap to the bottle mouth of the container, which is suitable for the high-speed production line. In addition, the injection material can be plastic, so that the formed extension stripand U-shaped striphave a certain degree of flexibility and are easy to be pulled apart. At the same time, the extension stripand the U-shaped striphave a certain degree of strength, so as to be able to support the cap bodyin the opening state.

In one embodiment, as shown in, the extension stripstarts from an opening endof the cap bodyand extends in a direction away from a closed endof the cap body; the avoidance partis formed as a door-shaped groove (i.e. formed as a “Π” structure) with a disconnected part at a top, the extension strippasses through the disconnected part of the door shaped groove, and the openingof the U-shaped stripis integrally connected to a lower end face of the disconnected part.

As shown in, the extension stripand the U-shaped stripare partially accommodated in the avoidance part.shows a front view structure of a bottle cap in another embodiment, as shown in, the extension stripand the U-shaped stripare fully accommodated in the avoidance part. The extension stripand the U-shaped stripare fully or partially accommodated in the avoidance part, depending on the total length required for the extension stripand U-shaped stripto be pulled apart. When applied to containers having different mouth heights, the length of the extension stripmay be from 1 cm to 50 cm or even longer.

In the bottle cap described above, the cap ringis not a 360° continuous ring and is provided with an opening; the U-shaped stripis formed at the opening and extends downward over the lower edge of the cover ring, and the bottom of U-shaped stripis connected to the extension stripof cap body. In this way, the bottle cap can be pulled up to a large extent, that is, the bottle cap can be pulled up to the height of the sum of the length of the extension stripand the length of the U-shaped strip. In addition, through the breakable connecting teeth, the cap ringforms a continuous structure close to 360°, and at the same time, the bottle cap and the bottle body are integrally connected after opening.

Through the connecting teeth, the cap ringmaintains the ring structure, which can make the cap ringresistant to extrusion and impact. During transportation, the cap ringcan be stacked together without distortion. After transporting to the destination, the cap ringcan then be easily separated, and be transferred through a conveyor belt to the working place where the cap ringfitted with the bottle body. The overall structure of the bottle cap is simple, tightly designed, sturdy and durable, capable of high-speed injection molding, easy to transport, rolling freely, without twisting and deformation, thereby meeting the production requirements of the filling line, and satisfying the production efficiency of the filling line.