EP0148978A2 - Container closure for the contaminationless tapping of liquid chemicals from a container - Google Patents

Abstract

1. Container closure having two through-flow paths, being, on the one hand, tightly fixable in an outlet opening of an container, and to which there is, on the other hand, tightly connectable a draw-off device, each of the two through-flow paths being closed by means which are opened automatically by parts (tube 308) of the draw-off device penetrating from the outside, when the same is put in place, whereby on the one hand, the container is emptied via one of the paths being designated hereinafter as the drain-off path and air and/or rinsing liquid and the like can enter the container via the other path being designated hereinafter as the pressure-equalizing and rinsing path, characterized in that the container closure is designed as an open-at-the-top beak-shaped, hollow body (300) being turnable inside out and viceversa, which is designated hereinafter as the turnable body, that the closing means of the drain-off path are arranged in the bottom part, and the closing means of the pressure-equalizing and rinsing path are arranged in the sidewall of this turnable body, and that the turnable body is convertible by means of one of the paths (tube 308) penetrating from the outside from its inwardly turned (short) state (Fig. 1) to its outwardly turned (long) state (Fig. 5), whereby the closing means (openings 304/projections 303 and/or diaphragm 306) of both through-flow paths are opened.

Description

The invention relates to a container closure according to the preamble of patent claim 1.

It is of increasing importance to partially or completely empty containers which contain liquid chemicals and in particular those which are harmful to humans in a manner which allows humans to come into contact with the liquid chemicals as far as possible or to avoid completely. This is of particular importance if the liquids to be tapped from a container are chemicals that are harmful to health or the environment. Many governments have legislated on this, such as the government of the State of California has regulated this over the past four years in relation to the open pouring of pesticides from containers.

While the government mentioned did so only through an open pouring process through its laws and regulations, without considering the possibility of later poisoning from human contact with emptied but unpurified containers or taps, or other damage to the environment, many governments go significantly further in this regard.

In order to fully appreciate the background of the invention, the study of a publication on page 19 of the "Agri-Chemical Age" from September / October 1978 is recommended. This publication describes as "Product of the Month" a closed pesticide transfer system, which includes a cheap probe, which can normally be installed on site in a mixing drum by manufacturers of chemical formulations, as well as a standardized quick coupling. However, with this known system it is still possible to pour out the contents of the drum by hand and openly, namely through an approximately 5 cm wide opening which is intended for use by consumers who do not have a closed tapping device. However, the consumer has the choice of using a special, suitable special device for tapping or not.

Other documents that address the background of the invention are U.S. Patents 4,108,336, 4,150,771 and 4,245,760. The first and the latter of these references relate to chemical-containing container assemblies that are adapted for use in closed systems can. However, the container arrangement in these documents does not completely prevent open pouring or contact with the environment.

U.S. Patent No. 4,150,771 is the most notable of the publications cited because it discloses a two-way valve closure that can be used when tapping beer from kegs. However, such a closure cannot be used when a tapping device is connected, in order to draw off a liquid chemical flow from the container at the same time and at the same time allow air to flow into the container, and at another time, with the tapping device still connected, to spray flushing water into the container and withdraw from it at the same time. The closure of U.S. Patent No. 4,150,771 is capable of being connected to several different coupling devices by the presence of hooks or the like projections in order to carry out separate operations.

It is therefore an important object of the present invention to realize an arrangement by means of which a container containing harmful liquid chemicals is only accessible to a limited extent such that any possibility of an open pouring out of the container contents is practically prevented.

The invention further aims to limit the tapping of the liquid so that specifically adapted tapping devices must be used for this purpose, both the container and the tapping device to be coupled to its closure both being largely freed of impurities after the tapping has been completed or emptied completely.

Another purpose of the invention is to ensure a complete automatic reclosing of the container after each tapping is completed when the tapping device is removed, regardless of whether the container has only been partially or completely emptied.

Finally, the invention aims to achieve the stated object and to achieve the stated purposes using as little costly means as possible, which nevertheless provide the desired results.

The tasks are essentially solved by designing the closure according to the characterizing part of patent claim 1.

The closure according to the invention is used together with a tapping device which is designed such that the flow of the media flowing into the container is completely separated from the flow of the liquid tapped from the container.

The container closure is attached to the closure by suitable organs, with it a closure against the environment Whole tapping device opens and closes automatically as soon as the tapping device is separated from the closure again.

The bleed stream is preferably sucked off through the inserted tube, while the pressure equalization takes place through air which flows in through the annular space between the outer wall of the inserted tube and the inner wall of the closing hollow body. After emptying the container via the tapping device which still forms a closed unit with it, water or another cleaning agent can be introduced into it through the annular space, e.g. can be sprayed in, and the cleaning liquid collecting at the bottom of the container can be sucked off again through the inserted tube by means of a suction pump connected to the tapping device.

• Fig. 1 einen Axialschnitt durch den Verschluss;
• Fig. 2 einen Schnitt längs der Linie II-II der Fig. 1;
• Fig. 3 einen Axialschnitt in teilweise ausgestülpter Stellung;
• Fig. 4 einen Schnitt längs der Linie IV-IV der Fig. 3;
• Fig. 5 einen Axialschnitt in völlig ausgestülptem Zustand; und
• Fig. 6 eine perspektivische Darstellung, teilweise im Schnitt eines Details des in den Fig. 1 bis 5 gezeigten Verschlusses.

Further purposes, advantages and details of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings; show it:

• 1 shows an axial section through the closure;
• Fig. 2 is a section along the line II-II of Fig. 1;
• 3 shows an axial section in a partially turned-out position;
• Fig. 4 is a section along the line IV-IV of Fig. 3;
• 5 shows an axial section in the completely turned-out state; and
• Fig. 6 is a perspective view, partly in section of a detail of the closure shown in Figs. 1 to 5.

In order to meet criteria that must be taken into account when avoiding an open pouring out of pesticides or the like, it is considered essential that the overall arrangement contains a two-way valve system. In order to be easily accessible, this valve system should also be able to be connected to a tap which only has to be connected on one level, the preferred level being that of a face-to-face connection, without requiring that the two be connected to one another Devices must have a certain position in relation to each other within a full angle of 360 °.

The closure 300 shown in FIGS. 1-6 is made in one piece from plastic and does not require separate springs. Its structure is therefore largely simplified. The closure 300 is preferably manufactured in one piece using the injection molding process and folded back into itself in the warm state for ease of manufacture. The closure has a top or outer, verhältnismässi ^g stiff head portion 300A and a deep located in the bulged state, thus lower and located in the invaginated state within the head portion and a thin-walled pliable corresponding riser pipe part 300B. In Fig. 1, the closure is shown in an inverted state. The head part 300A has on its inner wall protruding suspension ears or holding pins 302, by means of which the protruding tube part 300B is held back in the inserted state with the aid of corresponding openings, in particular slots 304, in the interior of the head part 300A.

The closure 300 is provided with a special device for the admission of liquid through the lower end of the protruding flexible riser part 300B, which comprises a membrane 306 in the bottom of the protruding part and a cylindrical ejection member 308. From Fig. 3 it can be seen that for the removal of liquid, this tubular ejection member 308, for example by firm contact with the bottom End of the piston or a pipe of a tapping device is pushed downward and thus into the interior of the container, whereby the riser pipe part 300B by bending the upper fold edge of the riser pipe part 300B in the suspended state, as indicated by dash-dotted lines in Fig. 3, from the suspension ears 302 detached, slipped out of the head part 300A and pushed towards the bottom of the container into the container. A tap which is suitable after a corresponding adaptation is shown in FIG. 5 of EP-A-0 064 949.

The inlet hole for the entry of a dangerous liquid chemical into the extended riser tube part 300B can be created by the fact that the lower, possibly sharp end of the ejection member 308 pierces or cuts a hole in the membrane 306. On the other hand, the bottom of the riser part may include a piston mechanism. Another type of sealing against liquid passage can consist of a valve in the bottom of the riser pipe part, which is opened by contact with the bottom of the container.

5 further shows that the closure 300 permits a two-way flow. When the riser pipe part 300B is fully extended, the liquid container contents can be drawn off directly by sucking into the cylindrical discharge member 308, shown as a dot-dash line and designed as a suction pipe, the required ambient pressure compensation in the inside of the container being achieved by means of between the outer surface of the cylindrical discharge member 308 and the inner surface of the wall 312 of the passage space 311 located in the fully extended riser pipe part 300B. In the same way, water or other liquid can be poured into the interior of the container through the openings 303 in the head part 300A of the closure and the passage space 311, and flushing water can again be introduced through the hollow interior of the cylindrical outlet be sucked 308 member.

Although only a special embodiment of the lockable and removable lock according to the invention is shown, other embodiments also fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, the closure has an alternate slot and plug arrangement in which a series of plugs on one side of a hinged band is sealingly inserted into a series of slits on the other side of the band when the closure is slipped in, whereas the plugs can be removed from the slots when the closure is opened.

The container closure is advantageously designed so that it can be attached to the container in place of the most common ordinary closures. The three most common closures used in the United States are a 63 mm inner screw cap, a flexible REIKE-type snout, and a two-inch NPT bung.

Of course, all parts of the container, the closure and the tapping device which come into contact with the liquid chemicals must be made of a material which is resistant to them.

The exemplary embodiment described is not intended to restrict the inventive concept, and all such changes which implement this inventive concept are included in the following patent claims.

Claims (6)

1. Container closure with a two-way housing, which on the one hand can be fixed tightly in an outflow opening of a container and to which on the other hand a tap can be tightly connected, each of the two housing paths being closed by means which are determined by organs penetrating from the outside, in particular by means of this Organs of the tapping device are opened automatically when they are put on, whereby on the one hand the container is emptied via the one path, which is referred to below as the tapping path, and via the other path, which is hereinafter referred to as the pressure compensation and flushing path, air and / or Rinsing liquid etc. can get into the container, characterized in that the housing is designed as a cup-shaped hollow body (300) which is open at the top and which is referred to below as an everting body, that the closing means of the dispensing path is arranged in the base part of this everting body, and that the everted body r can be converted from its inserted (short) to the extended (long) state by a tube (308) which engages its base part and can be inserted coaxially into the everting body, the closing means located in the base part being opened at the latest at the end of the displacement path. 2. A container closure according to claim 1, characterized in that the everted body (300) is fixed in its turned-in position, this fixation being released when a displacement force exerted on its base part exceeds a certain size. 3. Container closure according to claim 1, characterized in that the everting body (300) has in its side wall one or more openings (304), preferably evenly distributed on the circumference, with which it engages in this opening or openings in its inwardly turned position by means of outside Projections (303) can be fixed, this fixing being released when the on the Slip body floor exerted pushing force exceeds a certain size. 4. Container closure according to claim 3, characterized in that in the fixed position, the side wall openings (304) of the everting body (300) are sealed by the fixing projections (303) and this arrangement forms the closing means of the pressure compensation and flushing path. 5. Container closure according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the closing means of the tap path located in the bottom part of the everting body is formed by a membrane (306) which can be pierced or cut open. 6. Container closure according to one of claims 1 to 5 in combination with a tapping device, characterized in that the tapping device has a tapping pipe (308) protruding downwards or that such a pipe can be connected to it which, when the tapping device is placed on the container closure, in this penetrates and, by contact with the bottom part of the everted body, turns it over and opens the closing means of its bottom part, the said tube forming the bleed path including the riser pipe and the annular space between the tube and the everted everting body forming the pressure compensation and flushing path.

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