OLIVE OIL CONTAINER

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application relates to and claims the benefit and priority to Spanish Utility Model No. U202432361, filed Dec. 20, 2024, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to olive oil containers.

BACKGROUND

Olive oil is one of the healthiest foods available, with clear benefits backed by various scientific studies, meaning that moderate and regular consumption of this food offers significant advantages for the body.

Olive oil is usually sold in containers of different sizes, typically 1 liter, 2 liters, 3 liters, or 5 liters. The containers generally consist of a bottle containing the olive oil and a cap that closes the neck of the bottle, but in some cases, the containers have a dispenser attached to the neck of the bottle that allows the oil to be dispensed. However, these dispensers may not dispense the oil properly, usually pouring more oil than is actually desired. For this reason, it is common for consumers to use additional containers of smaller capacity that they fill with olive oil from the larger bottle.

For example, ES1199337U describes an oil container comprising a bottle for containing olive oil with a bottle neck where a dispensing cap is provided for dispensing the oil contained in the bottle.

SUMMARY

The invention relates to an olive oil container comprising a bottle for containing olive oil which has a neck and a dispensing cap arranged on the neck of the bottle for dispensing the olive oil contained in the bottle. The dispensing cap comprises a movable cap and a cap base permanently snap-fitted to the neck of the bottle, wherein the movable cap has an inner housing that is connected to a discharge hole for dispensing the olive oil, and the cap base has a dispensing channel that communicates with the bottle and a shutter for closing the discharge hole of the movable cap, and wherein the movable cap has an inner threaded surface that cooperates with an outer threaded surface of the cap base to axially move the movable cap between a closing position and an olive oil dispensing position, such that in the dispensing position the discharge hole of the movable cap communicates with the dispensing channel of the cap base to dispense the olive oil, and in the closing position, the discharge hole of the movable cap is closed by the shutter of the cap base.

This provides an olive oil container with a two-part dispensing cap. The cap base of the dispensing cap allows a permanent coupling between the dispensing cap and the bottle, preventing the dispensing cap from accidentally detaching from the bottle, while the movable cap that moves relative to the cap base allows for proper dispensing of the olive oil contained in the bottle. In addition, the container is single-use, avoiding the need to use refillable containers with a specific dispenser.

These and other advantages and features will become apparent from the figures and the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a partial view of an embodiment of an olive oil container, where a dispensing cap is attached to the neck of a bottle.

FIG. 2 is a view of the movable cap of the dispensing cap shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A shows a top view of the movable cap of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2B shows a bottom view of the movable cap of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the cap base of the dispensing cap in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A shows a top view of the cap base of FIG. 3.

FIG. 3B shows a bottom view of the cap base of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the movable cap of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the cap base of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of an example of the olive oil container where the cap base can be seen permanently attached to the neck of the bottle by elastic snap-fit.

FIG. 7 shows an enlarged view of the coupling between the cap base and the neck of the bottle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a partial view of the top of an olive oil container according to the invention. The olive oil container comprises a bottle 100 for containing olive oil and a dispensing cap 200 that is disposed on the neck 110 of the bottle 100 for dispensing the olive oil contained in the bottle 100.

In the sense of the invention, the term “axial” refers to a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis X of the container, and the term “diametric” refers to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X of the container. The term “upward” refers to a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis X extending toward the dispensing cap 200 of the container, and the term “downward” refers to a direction opposite to the previous one and parallel to the longitudinal axis X extending toward the bottom of the container.

The dispensing cap 200 comprises a movable cap 210 (see FIG. 2) and a cap base 220 (see FIG. 3) that is permanently snap-fitted to the neck 110 of the bottle 100, as will be described below, so that the cap base 220 forms an indivisible part of the bottle 100, requiring the snap-fit connection to be broken in order to separate the cap base 220 from the neck 110 of the bottle 100 once the connection between the two has been established.

As can be seen in the example in FIGS. 4 and 5, the movable cap 210 has an inner housing 211 that is connected to a discharge hole 212 for dispensing the olive oil, and the cap base 220 has a dispensing channel 221 that is connected to the bottle 100 and a shutter 222 for closing the discharge hole 212 of the movable cap 210. The movable cap 210 and the cap base 220 are hollow bodies that allow the olive oil to pass from inside the bottle 100 to the discharge hole 212.

The movable cap 210 has an inner threaded surface 213 that cooperates with an outer threaded surface 223 of the cap base 220 to axially move the movable cap 210 between a closing position and an olive oil dispensing position, such that, in the dispensing position, the discharge hole 212 of the movable cap 210 is connected to the dispensing channel 221 of the cap base 220 to dispense the olive oil, and in the closing position, the discharge hole 212 of the movable cap 210 is closed by the shutter 222 of the cap base 220, preventing the dispensing of olive oil. In this way, the threaded surfaces 213 and 223 cooperate with each other to axially displace the movable cap 210 in response to the rotation of the movable cap 210 on the cap base 220. FIGS. 1 and 6 show the movable cap 210 in the closing position with the shutter 222 located in the discharge hole 212, preventing the olive oil from escaping.

The cap base 220 comprises a lower portion 224 that is permanently coupled by elastic snap-fit engagement with the neck 110 of the bottle 100 and an upper portion 225 that projects vertically upward from the lower portion 224, and where the movable cap 210 is screwed onto the upper portion 225 of the cap base 220. Both the upper portion 225 and the lower portion 224 have a hollow cylindrical shape, with the upper portion 225 having a smaller diameter than the lower portion 224.

The upper portion 225 of the cap base 220 has inside it the dispensing channel 221 which communicates with the bottle 100, and the upper portion 225 has an outer face which is partially covered by the outer threaded surface 223 which cooperates with the inner threaded surface 213 of the movable cap 210.

The shutter 222 is supported on legs 230 that project vertically upward from the upper end of the cap base 220, leaving the shutter 222 separated from the cap base 220 by a distance to allow the passage of olive oil between the dispensing channel 221 and the discharge hole 212 through the legs 230. Preferably, the shutter 222 is supported on three legs 230 that project vertically upward from the upper annular end of the upper portion 225 of the cap base 220.

As seen in the examples in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5, the lower portion 224 of the cap base 220 has a wall 226 that extends axially downward surrounding the neck 110 of the bottle 100 on the outside and a dome 228 that extends from the wall 226 toward the upper portion 225 of the cap base 220, and the upper portion 225 of the cap base 220 projects vertically upward from the dome 228.

As seen in FIG. 6 and shown in detail in FIG. 7, the wall 226 has an inner annular flange 227 that projects radially inward toward the container and cooperates with an outer annular flange 111 of the neck 110 of the bottle 100 that projects radially outward from the container, both annular flanges 227 and 111 establishing the snap-fit coupling between the dispensing cap 200 and the neck 110 of the bottle 100. Thus, to establish the coupling between the dispensing cap 200 and the neck 110 of the bottle 100, the bottle 100 is initially filled with olive oil and then the dispensing cap 200 is placed on the neck 110 of the bottle 100 by pressing the dispensing cap 200 downwards until the inner annular flange 227 of the cap base 220 passes over the outer annular rim 111 of the neck 110 of bottle 100, at which point cap base 220 is permanently attached to the neck 110 of bottle 100.

Preferably, the neck 110 of the bottle 100 has another outer annular flange 112 that projects radially outward from the container and provides a support for the lower free end of the wall 226 of the lower portion 224 of the cap base 220. In this way, the outer annular flange 112 provides a stop that limits the placement of the cap base 220 on the neck 110 of the bottle 100. More preferably, the outer annular flange 112 has a stepped, L-shaped configuration to support the lower corner of the wall 226 of the cap base 220.

Preferably, the dome 228 has an annular projection 229 that projects vertically into the interior of the bottle 100, contacting the annular projection 229 with the inner face of the neck 110 of the bottle 100 to establish an airtight seal between the dispensing cap 200 and the bottle 100. In this way, the annular protrusion 229 directs the olive oil towards the dispensing channel 221 of the cap base 220, preventing oil from leaking outside the neck 110 of the bottle 100.

Even more preferably, as can be seen in FIG. 6, the upper free end 113 of the neck 110 of the bottle 100 abuts against the dome 228 of the dispensing cap 200, establishing an additional airtight seal between the bottle 100 and the dispensing cap 200.

In this way, a secure four-zone coupling is obtained between the cap base 220 and the neck 110 of the bottle 100. A first coupling zone is established between the annular flange 227 of the dispensing cap 200 and the annular flange 111 of the neck 110 of the bottle 100. A second coupling zone is established between the annular projection 229 of the dome 228 of the dispensing cap 200 and the inner face of the neck 110 of the bottle 100. A third coupling zone is established between the dome 228 of the dispensing cap 200 and the upper free end 113 of the neck 110 of the bottle 100. A fourth coupling zone is established between the lower free end of the wall 226 of the cap base 220 and the outer annular flange 112 of the neck 110 of the bottle 100.

Preferably, the movable cap 210 has a security seal 214 that connects the movable cap 210 to the cap base 220, the security seal 214 breaking when the movable cap 210 is first moved from the closing position to the dispensing position.

Even more preferably, the security seal 214 comprises a plastic strip that joints the lower end of the movable cap 210 to the dome 228 of the lower portion 224 of the cap base 220, the plastic strip having windows 215 that define break points 216 to facilitate the breaking of the security seal 214.

Even more preferably, the plastic strip has windows 215 of a first width and windows 215′ of a second width, the first width being greater than the second width (the width being determined in the axial direction). Even more preferably, the windows 215 and 215′ are arranged alternately along the plastic strip, with a window 215 with the first width being arranged between two windows 215′ with the second width. In this way, the plastic strip is sufficiently rigid to ensure the connection of the movable cap 210 to the cap base 220 but without requiring excessive force to break the connection between the two.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, the upper end of the cap base 220 has an annular flange 231 that projects radially outward from the cap base 220 to contact a smooth inner surface 213′ of the movable cap 210, such that the annular flange 231 establishes a seal between the movable cap 210 and the cap base 210 during axial movement of the movable cap 210. Preferably, the annular flange 231 projects radially outward from the upper annular end of the upper portion 225 of the cap base 220. Additionally, the movable cap has another annular flange 218 that projects radially inward from the movable cap 210 to contact a smooth outer surface 223′ of the cap base 220, such that contact between the annular flange 218 of the movable cap 210 and the annular flange 231 of the cap base 220 limits the axial displacement of the movable cap 210.

The cap base 220 has two diametrically opposed ramps 232, each of the ramps 232 ending in a vertical face 233 (see FIGS. 3 and 3a), and the movable cap 210 has two tabs 219 (see FIGS. 2b and 4) that cooperate with the two ramps 232 of the cap base 220, such that in the closing position the tabs 219 abut against the vertical fronts 233 of the ramps 232, limiting the threading of the movable cap 210, and during the axial displacement of the movable cap220 towards the dispensing position, the tabs 219 slide on the ramps 232.

In this way, during the unscrewing of the movable cap 210, i.e. during the axial displacement of the movable cap 210 towards the dispensing position, the tabs 219 slide over the ramps 232, raising the movable cap vertically and thus assisting the axial displacement of the movable cap 210, while during the screwing of the movable cap 210, the tabs 219 abut against the vertical front 233 of the ramps 232, preventing the movable cap 210 from being over-screwed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the movable cap 210 has a rough outer surface provided with multiple axial grooves 217 to facilitate unscrewing the movable cap 210.

Preferably, the movable cap 210, the cap base 220, and the bottle 100 are respectively manufactured in a single piece by plastic injection molding. Alternatively, the movable cap 210 and the cap base 220 may each be manufactured in a single piece by plastic injection molding, and the bottle 100 may be manufactured from a single piece of metal by deep drawing.