DE69301152T2 - Container for a single dose of a drinkable product - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to containers, in particular to containers for a single dose of a drinkable product.

The invention is used in particular in the sale, storage and consumption of carbonated, carbonated or still mineral water and, more generally, any water, spring water or drinking water or even lemonade that is suitable for being packaged in a container of suitable size, in particular for individual consumption.

The invention is generally directed to mixing a preferably liquid base product with a liquid or powdered additive at the time of consumption, for example, ingestion, in order to give the base product, for example a base liquid, desired properties, the choice of which is, however, left to the user.

The invention is described below in particular in its application as a container for storing a supply of a drinkable liquid and making it available to the user, but is not limited to this application but relates to any storage of two products which are located separately in the same container and which, at the consumer's choice, or the user during use or handling.

According to the invention, the container containing the basic product, for example drinking water, has a space located in a chamber separate from the water, which in turn contains an active ingredient for a mixture to be prepared as required.

Under these conditions, the water (or the base liquid) is sealed off from the space containing an additive or active ingredient to be mixed during the entire storage, transport or preservation period. At the time of consumption or use, the user now has a supply of an active ingredient, for example in powder form, but preferably in liquid form, which can be added to the base liquid to give it certain properties, for example aroma, smell or taste properties or a biological or possibly therapeutic effect.

For example, the stock may contain a medicinal plant extract, the selection of which can be changed and adapted depending on the desired purpose in terms of the selected substances, their concentration or even the amount of the active ingredient or the method of its absorption.

Advantageously, the space containing the active ingredients, for example the medicinal plant extracts, is located in or in the area of the closure or lid that closes the main container with the mineral water contained therein.

A special handling is now provided which allows the user to choose whether to remove the cap when consuming the product without adding the active ingredient to the water and mixing it with it, or to break open the cap separating the active ingredient from the water and thus allow the active ingredient to flow out and bring it into contact with the water and mix it with it.

In this way, a single bottle is provided which allows two ways of consumption, namely with or without the intended additive with the therapeutic, odorous, aromatic or other elements listed above.

In this way, the user can, by means of an appropriate movement described in the instructions for use included with the bottle, for example printed on the bottle or flacon, either first mix the components or extract the active ingredient extract without mixing it with the water supply.

The selection is made while the cap is being unscrewed, possibly by turning it in one direction or the other, or by removing an element belonging to the cap from the outside by pulling on a tab, whereby this removal causes the active ingredients and the water supply to mix.

The water is a natural mineral water, with or without carbonic acid, and the active ingredient consists of a medicinal and aromatic plant extract (mint, anise or the like), the additive preferably consisting of a mixture of extracts appropriately dosed to obtain an aromatic balance which makes the consumption of the drink more pleasant and at the same time adds active ingredients to the drink which awaken and stimulate the intellectual and physical faculties, thus making it possible to produce a vitalising, tonic, invigorating and at the same time thirst-quenching drink.

The invention can be further developed in many ways, in particular with regard to the shape of the container, the choice of products and the elements intended for combining the additive with the basic product.

The invention enables the production of a beverage that is suitable as a family drink and as an individual drink, as well as a drink for travelling, with meals or for the sale of drinks.

The invention can be implemented starting from a container for a single dose of a drinkable product of the type described in WO-A-8.900.959. According to this publication, the container comprises in particular a closure in which there is a supply of an additive which can optionally be mixed directly with the dose of the base product, and a transversely extending membrane which separates the supply of the additive from the base product. and in the rest position of the closure rests against the cross-sectional area of the container neck, so that the membrane gives way during a screwing movement by the container neck exerting pressure on the circumference of the membrane and thereby at least partially tearing it off, so that the tightness of the storage space is destroyed and its contents fall into the container by gravity, and finally manual actuating means by means of which the closure can be removed by a second handle after mixing has taken place or even without mixing.

The closure has the form of a cylinder closed on one side, which covers and closes the upper open end of the container, which forms the container neck, onto which the closure is screwed in a known manner, and contains in its interior a storage space containing the additive, the contents of which are separated by a membrane extending in the transverse direction, which, when the closure is in the rest position, rests against the cross-sectional area of the container neck, so that the membrane gives way during a screwing movement by the container neck exerting pressure on the circumference of the membrane, causing it to tear off at least partially, so that the tightness of the storage space is destroyed and its contents fall into the container by gravity. In this known arrangement, the length of the screwing movement depends on the axial position of a shoulder provided in the closure.

The container according to the invention is characterized in that the cavity within the storage space of the lid has an inwardly projecting stop which is able to withstand the pressure of the closure and thus limit the screwing movement of the lid and thus prevent the entire circumference of the membrane from being destroyed and falling into the liquid.

Advantageously, the stop is designed to allow a screwing movement of the lid between 1 and 3/4 turns, after which the neck of the container, by bearing against the stop, prevents further movement and maintains the connection between at least a peripheral region of the membrane and the body of the closure, thus preventing the membrane from falling into the liquid.

According to a further development of the invention, the closure makes it possible either to open the container by directly unscrewing it and without prior movement in the screwing direction and mixing the additional product with the base liquid, so that the latter can be drunk in its original state, or otherwise to tear the membrane by a prior screwing movement, whereby the additional product is mixed with the base liquid before consumption.

Advantageously, the closure further comprises an integrity band in its lower region which secures the closure in its intermediate position during storage, the integrity of the closure and its band indicating that neither a screwing nor an unscrewing movement has been attempted on the unit.

Preferably, this protective band consists of a band extending downwards from the cylindrical wall of the closure, which is separated from this lower region by a break line which enables the band to be torn open and separated from the lower cylindrical region of the closure by turning it either in the screwing direction for the purpose of mixing the contents or in the unscrewing direction without mixing.

Preferably, the band is housed in an annular groove in the outer wall of the container neck.

According to the invention, the container can consist of a flacon or a bottle.

In one embodiment, the container for the base liquid can consist of a cylindrical body which, for example, contains in its closure a supply of a liquid ingredient for a medicinal preparation.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a particular embodiment of the invention, which is described here by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, but is not to be understood as limiting. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the upper region of a container with a closure according to the invention in the rest position intended for storage;

Fig. 2 the same upper part of the container after the movement in the screwing direction, by which the membrane was partially torn off at its periphery in order to mix the additive with the base liquid;

Fig. 3 the upper part of the bottle according to Fig. 1 after removal of the cap by the unscrewing movement, without any mixing having taken place beforehand; and

Fig. 4 shows the same upper bottle area as in Fig. 3 after screwing, but before that the movement in the screwing direction shown in Fig. 2 has taken place for the purpose of mixing the two products.

From the figures as a whole it can be seen that the main container 1 consists of a bottle or a vial of a type known per se and of any material, for example of inorganic glass or a plastic material.

The upper area forming the bottle neck has, in a known manner, on its outside a thread for receiving a bottle closure 3.

The latter comprises a cylindrical sleeve 3a, the internal thread of which engages in the external thread of the bottle neck 2.

At the lower end of the cylindrical sleeve 3a there is the band 3b, which is connected to the lower end of the sleeve 3a with a breaking zone, by means of which the band 3b located in a groove 2b, which indicates the integrity of the bottle, can be easily broken open.

The band 3b remains in its receiving groove and from its intact connection with the lower part of the cylindrical collar 3a it can be seen that the bottle is in its normal resting position and has not undergone any screwing or unscrewing movement.

What is new about this arrangement is that the closure 3 has a membrane 4 extending in the transverse direction, which separates a storage chamber 4a located above and containing an additional liquid 4b.

As already mentioned, the additional liquid can consist of any aromatic substances, for example freeze-dried natural extracts or any other extracts from products with seasoning, flavoring, flavoring or therapeutic effects.

According to the invention, the user should have the possibility, as he wishes, of either mixing the additional product 4b with the base liquid 1a or of using the base liquid 1a without this mixing.

The closure 3 allows this dual use.

As can be seen in Fig. 2, the initial movement of the closure in the screwing direction causes the band 3b indicating the integrity of the bottle to break open, whereby the closure or the lid is screwed further onto the bottle and the upper area of the bottle neck thereby presses with its cross-sectional area onto the membrane 4, which in turn is designed in such a way that it gives way to even a slight pressure and tears off at its edge.

This movement takes place for 1, 2 or 3/4 turns until the stop 5 comes into contact with the upper surface of the bottle neck, whereby the stop is designed in such a way that it blocks further movement and the screwing movement ends after completion of the 1, 2 or 3/4 turns.

It is evident that under the conditions shown in Fig. 2, the inner membrane 4 has been torn off at its periphery and no longer closes off the storage chamber 4a, so that the liquid 4b contained therein escapes by gravity and enters the main liquid la.

Of course, the additional product may also have a powdered phase or a solid phase, in which case the liquid is introduced into the upper chamber 4a by tilting the bottle in order to cause the mixing and possibly the dissolution of the solid active ingredient contained in this chamber.

As can be seen from Fig. 3 and 4, it is possible to either carry out the mixing or - as shown in Fig. 3 - to close the by directly unscrewing without prior movement in the screwing direction.

In the case of immediate unscrewing (without prior movement in the screwing direction) as shown in Fig. 3, the band 3b held in its groove at the bottom of the bottle neck breaks, the closure can be removed normally together with its interior 4a and the unused additional product remains enclosed in this space by the intact membrane 4; the product can possibly be stored for later use, the bottle being refilled with another main product and reused, since the consumer knows that he has had the products under his supervision since the protective band was broken.

Fig. 4 shows the removal of the lid after tearing open the membrane 4 and mixing the products.

The membrane 4 can advantageously be arranged obliquely in the inner cavity of the closure, so that during the initial rotational movement in the screwing direction the bottle neck only comes into contact with the lowest part of the membrane and only this is torn off, while the membrane continues to be held with its highest part inside the body of the closure and remains connected to it without falling freely into the liquid contained in the bottle.

Fig. 5 shows a variant in which the container is designed as a simple container, for example made of a plastic material in a shape similar to a cigar case. In this application as Packaging for therapeutic or pharmaceutical products, this form of construction allows the formation of containers which can be used instead of drinking ampoule containers, whereby this embodiment then makes it unnecessary to break off the two ampoule ends one after the other and the medication can be taken immediately, anywhere and without any aids.

Claims (5)

1 container for the consumption of one dose of basic liquid product with: - a closure plug (3) containing a reserve (4a) of additional product (4b) which is optionally mixed simultaneously with the dose of base liquid; - an insulating transverse membrane (4) separating the reserve of additional product from the dose of base liquid, the membrane being in the waiting position of the stopper and resting on the cross-section of the neck (2) of the container, which can thus yield during the screwing movement due to the pressure of the neck on the edge of the membrane and which can be at least partially torn off, destroying the tightness of the reserve, the contents of which fall into the container thanks to gravity; and - manual means for operating the plug for its removal with or without prior mixing, characterized in that a bore inside the reserve (4a) of the plug (3) has an inwardly projecting stop (5) capable of resisting the pressure of the neck (2) and thus limiting the screwing movement of the plug in order to prevent the total peripheral destruction of the membrane and its fall into the liquid medium. 2 - Container according to claim 1, characterized in that said stop (5) is designed to allow a screwing movement of the stopper between 1 and 3/4 of a turn, beyond which the neck (2) presses on the stopper, preventing a continuation of the movement and ensuring that at least a peripheral part of the membrane (4) remains firmly connected to the body of the stopper (3) and cannot fall into the base liquid. 3 - Container according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the stopper (3) is provided at its base with a sealing strip (3b) which blocks the stopper in its intermediate position during storage, the strip consisting of a skirt extending the base of the cylindrical wall (3a) of the stopper, a break line existing between the stopper and the sealing strip, the strip nestling in an annular groove (2b) in the external wall of the neck. 4 - Container according to one of the above claims, characterized in that it consists of a vial or a bottle. 5 - Container according to one of the above claims, characterized in that it consists of a cylindrical body with a reserve of liquid product which is connected, in particular in the stopper, to a drug mixture.