EP0670803B1 - Metal container, with means for allowing a rapid emptying of the container - Google Patents

Abstract

Metal container (1), substantially a can for beverages in general, provided on the lid (2) with a pull or screw opening or the like, comprising a common cylindrical can or the like, provided on the sealed lid with a pull tab (3) or the like for the opening of the can, and at the opposite end of said can, with hand-operatable means suitable to realize a second opening at the moment of emptying of the can, said two openings, opposed to one another, allowing, after the removal of said means, to tilt the can in distribution position, and to operate the other one of said means to let air in on the fluid and to cause therefore a quick and regular emptying of the can without rebounds or oscillations of the fluid during the distribution.

Description

The invention relates to a metal container for fluids,substantially a can for either aerated or naturalbeverages, provided with hand-operatable means to allowa quick and regular emptying of the fluid containedtherein.

As is known, the usual cans, cylindrical or the likefrom metal, particularly aluminium, containing eitheraerated beverages, such as ale, orangeade, coca colaand the like, or natural fluids, are provided on thesealed lid with means for the quick hand opening, i.e.without the utilization of tools or the like. Suchmeans and especially the more widespread ones, consistof a tag suitable to be lifted and pulled away from thelid, which removes from said lid a zone previouslytreated (by partial incision or the like), so as tocircumscribe, after the removal, an opening wide enoughto allow the distribution of the content. Said "pulltabs" are so positioned as to remove a zone of the lidnear the edge of the latter, in order to constitute amouth suitable to make the pouring out of the fluideasy, without too much spilling of the fluid laterallyto the mouth.

In practice, the emptying of a usual can through a distribution mouth whose area is necessarily limited,is always difficult and above all irregular, especiallyat the beginning of the distribution, both when thefluid is poured into a glass or the like or directlyinto the mouth of the consumer, due to the fact that,the can being obviously tilted or overturned, the fluidcoming out concerns all the distribution opening area,and therefore does not let air enter the can, to exerciceon the fluid the atmospheric pressure which isobviously necessary to allow a correct distribution.Therefore, the fluid comes out irregularly and toadjust the outflow it is necessary to change ratheroften the tilting of the can to reduce the outflow andto let air in, on the fluid contained in the can.

In practice, this involves a slowering of the emptyingvelocity of the can and indesirable oscillationsand/or rebounds of the fluid during the distribution,which also cause spillings of fluid around the distributionmouth of said can.

WO 93/12006 (PRUS) discloses a can provided with afirst and a second opening members (ring pull or tearoff strip) arranged respectively on the lid and on thebottom of the can; both the opening members are designedso that bottom and the lid may be completelydetached from the casing, creating a casing open atboth ends which may be sqeezed with little effort anddisposed. The preamble of claim 1 is based on this prior art.

Object of this invention is therefore to provide ametal container can-shaped or the like for aerated ornatural beverages, provided with means suitable toobviate the drawbacks of the present cans for beverageswith pull opening or the like, with no need for importantstructural changes in the traditional cans.

Another object of this invention is to provide a can ofthe aforementioned type, so improved as to allow a quick and regular emptying without involving irreparablefluid spillings and losses on the lid and the sidesof the can.

A further object of this invention is to provide ametal can provided with means to allow a quick andregular emptying, so designed as not to constituteundiserable encumbrances and as to be efficacious andreliable, besides being very cheap.

These and still other objects which will be more clearlystressed in the following, are achieved by a metalcan for aerated or naturalbeverages as defined in claim 1.

More particularly, said means suitable to realize said second opening are obtained on the bottom of the can,according to one of the possible embodiments; accordingto another embodiment, said means suitable to createsaid second opening are positioned on the cylindricalsurface of the can, near the bottom of same.

Besides, said means may be constituted by a second pulltag or by a preincised or pre-cut zone in the cylindricalwall or in the bottom, removable by exercising apressure on same with a finger, a bar-shaped tool orthe like, or by other analogous pressure means.

Further characteristics and advantages of this inventionshall appear more clearly from the followingdetailed description, made with reference to the attacheddrawing, given by way of example, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows schematically a can for ale, orangeade orthe like, realized according to this invention andaccording to a first practical embodiment;

Fig. 2 shows a can realized according to another embodiment,and

Fig. 3 shows a can realized according to a furtherembodiment.

With special reference to Fig. 1, the can-shaped containersubject matter of this invention is substantiallyconstituted by a common cylindrical metal can 1,generally from aluminium or its alloys, and normallyprovided onlid 2 with ausual pull tag 3, hooked at 4to anoval zone 5 preincised onlid 2; by liftingtag 3 one removes the peripherally preincisedzone 5, leavingon the lid an opening corresponding to theremoved zone6.

Opening 6 constitutes the distribution mouth of thebeverage.

The improvement subject matter of this invention consists,according to the embodiment shown on Fig, 1, inproviding onbottom 7 of said can an analogous opening6', realized by means of apull tag 8.

Thispull tag 8 may also be realized on the cylindricalwall of can 1, in a position as near as possible tobottom 7 of said can, as shown on Fig. 2.

According to another embodiment, the opening opposed tothe distribution opening 6 may be realized either onbottom 7 or on thecylindrical wall 1a of the can, byprearranging by means of a partial incision or deformation9 an area, for instance as indicated by 10 on Fig.3, having a round, oval or polygonal width and shape;such area 10 can be wholly removed or partly benttowards the inside of the can, at the moment of distributionof the fluid, by a pressure exercized on saidzone 10 by a finger, the end of a pencil or any othersuitable and convenient means; in this way an openingcreates opposite to the distribution opening 6.

Always according to this invention, it does not matterwhether opening 10 or 6', realized onbottom 7 or nearthe same, has an area similar, greater or smaller (for instance by half) than the area of thedistributionmouth 6. Said opening 10 or 6' allows air to enter inthe can and to get in touch with the fluid and preciselyin the space, practically a vacuum, which createsbetween the bottom of the can and the fluid, when thecan is tilted, i.e. in emptying position.

The quick emptying with fluid flow in conditions ofabsence of turbulence or oscillations takes place inpractice in the following way: keeping the can in asubstantially upright position, one tears away the pulltag oncover 2, then tilts the can in the usual way, soas to allow the emptying into a vessel, generally aglass, or also directly into the mouth of the user,activating at the same time the means that causes theopening arranged on the bottom or the wall near saidbottom. Now, the atmospheric pressure, entering in thebottom of the can, acts on the fluid, allowing in thisway its quick and regular outflow from the mouth ofsaid can.

Always according to this invention, the emptying of thecan may take place also by utilizing opening 10 or 6'of the can.

Claims (2)

1. Metal can for aerated or natural beverages, comprisinga lid (2), a bottom (7), a casing (1a) and openingmeans (3, 4, 5, 8, 10), , being providedon the lid (2) with a first opening means of pull tagtype (3, 4, 5)for creating afirst opening for the distribution of the beverage andon the bottom (7) with a second opening means such asa pull tag
   wherein a portion of the lid is removed for distributingthe beverage by tilting the can to raise thebottom above the topcharacterized in that a portion of small area (6) of the lid(2) near the edge of the lid is removed by said first openingmeans, and a portion of small area (6') of the bottom (7) or ofthe casing (1a) near the bottom in diametrical opposition tosaid portion of the lid (2) is removed by said second openingmeans (8, 10) for creating a second opening, and in thatremoving said portion of thebottom or near the bottom allows air into the can, causing inthis way a quick and regular emptying of the can withoutrebounds or oscillations of the beverage duringthe distribution stage,
2. Container according to claim 1, characterized inthat said means (8) suitable to create said second opening are positioned on said casing (1a) near theedge of the bottom (7) of same.

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