POUR SPOUT FITMENT This invention relates to a pour spout fitment and to a method of opening a pour spout fitment.

Pour spout fitments are common on many containers of liquids. For example, juice cartons sold to the general public are often provided with screw cap arrangements on one top panel of the carton, so that the end user can access the contents of the carton by unscrewing the screw cap and the user can also close the carton in the same manner and store the juice carton in their fridge. For safety reasons and for health reasons, it is desirable to have a tamper evident pour spout fitment so that the end user can tell if a pour spout fitment has been opened already.

WO 2010/125354 discloses a pour spout fitment with a tamper evident arrangement. In this document, a package comprises a container and a pour spout fitment attached thereto, the fitment comprising a pour spout, a closure covering an outer end of the spout, and a tamper evident arrangement attached to the spout or the container, on the one hand, and, more weakly, by at least one frangible bridge to the closure, on the other hand, the arrangement being such that, through opening of the closure, each bridge is broken, but at least one significant portion of the tamper evident arrangement remaining attached to the spout or the container can project laterally outwards noticeably. In one embodiment, each significant portion is pre-stressed laterally outwardly and is a leg portion extending longitudinally of the spout. In other embodiments, each significant portion is arcuate and extends about the spout.

The pour spout fitment described in this document, while performing effectively as a tamper evident arrangement for a pour spout fitment on a container is relatively complex to manufacture and relies on the tamper evident arrangement breaking from the closure of the fitment at one end while remaining connected to the spout of the fitment at the other end. A simpler tamper proof pour spout fitment is desirable.

It is therefore an object of the invention to improve upon the known art. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pour spout fitment comprising a pour spout including a knob projecting from the pour spout, and a closure rotatably mounted on the pour spout and including a tab, such that when the closure is rotated relative to the pour spout, the tab on the closure contacts the knob on the pour spout, forcing the tab outwards relative to the pour spout, characterised in that the closure comprises a cap and a tamper evident band connected to the cap, the tamper evident band arranged to separate from the cap when the closure is removed from the pour spout, wherein the tab is mounted on the tamper evident band.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of opening a pour spout fitment, the pour spout fitment comprising a pour spout including a knob projecting from the pour spout and a closure rotatably mounted on the pour spout and including a tab, the method comprising rotating the closure relative to the pour spout, such that the tab on the closure contacts the knob on the pour spout, forcing the tab outwards relative to the pour spout, characterised in that the closure comprises a cap and a tamper evident band connected to the cap, the tamper evident band arranged to separate from the cap when the closure is removed from the pour spout, wherein the tab is mounted on the tamper evident band.

Owing to the invention, it is possible to provide a pour spout fitment with a tamper evident component that is simple to manufacture and is less likely to not function when compared to the prior pour spout fitments with tamper evident arrangements. As the user turns the closure, which is for example a screw cap, then the tab of the closure contacts the knob of the pour spout with the result that the tab is forced outwards, creating a clear visible indication that the closure has been opened. Since none of the components for the tamper evident arrangement need to be connected together, there is no requirement for a breaking to occur between components, when the closure is opened. This reduces the likelihood of the tamper evident arrangement failing.

The closure comprises a cap and a tamper evident band connected to the cap, the tamper evident band arranged to separate from the cap when the closure is removed from the pour spout, wherein the tab is mounted on the tamper evident band. The closure comprises two separate components, a cap and a tamper evident band, which are preferably connected together by a series of bridges around the cap. When the end user opens the closure, the bridges will break, leaving the tamper evident band in place while the cap is removed. The tab is located on the tamper evident band so that the tab remains in place and can be clearly seen in its position after having been forced outwards during the end user opening the closure.

Preferably, the pour spout comprises a neck and a flange connected to the neck, wherein the knob is mounted on the neck. The pour spout of the fitment can be constructed as a neck on which the closure is mounted at one end of the neck, with a flange being provided at the opposite end of the neck. The flange is in plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the neck and is of constant width around the neck. The purpose of the flange is to provide a sealing surface that is used to mount the pour spout fitment on a container such as a juice carton. The flange can be mounted on the exterior of the container or can be mounted on the interior of the container, with the neck of the pour spout passing through a hole in the container.

Ideally, the closure includes a slot, wherein the tab is located within the slot. The knob on the pour spout can also be located within the slot of the closure. In a preferred embodiment of the tamper evident arrangement in the pour spout fitment, the closure includes a slot that is visible to the end user of the container that has the pour spout fitment attached thereto. The slot provides a focal point for the user to clearly see whether the closure has been opened before or not, while also providing a channel for locating the tab. The knob can also be located within the same slot, protruding from the pour spout through the slot of the closure, again to be visible to the end user. The provision of the slot also means that when the user opens the closure the slot guides the tab over the knob, forcing the tab outwards.

Advantageously, the pour spout fitment is provided with multiple sets of knobs on the pour spout and tabs on the closure such that when the closure is rotated relative to the pour spout, each tab on the closure contacts a respective knob on the pour spout, forcing each tab outwards relative to the pour spout. The tamper evident arrangement can be provided with multiple tab and knob arrangements around the closure, in order to provide multiple visible indicators to the end user, to assist them in determining if a closure has already been opened. Preferably, the multiple sets of knobs on the pour spout and tabs on the closure are evenly spaced around the pour spout fitment, which provides the best visibility to the end user.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-

Figure 1 is a cross-section through a pour spout fitment,

Figure 2 is a perspective view from above of the pour spout fitment,

Figure 3 is a side view of the pour spout fitment,

Figure 4 is a perspective view from above of the pour spout fitment after being opened,

Figure 5 is a perspective view from above of a second embodiment of the pour spout fitment, and

Figure 6 is a perspective view from above of the pour spout fitment of Figure 5 after being opened.

Figure 1 shows a cross-section through a pour spout fitment 10 for a container. The pour spout fitment 10 comprises a pour spout 12 and a closure 1 6 which is rotatably mounted on the pour spout 12. The pour spout 12 comprises a neck 20 and a flange 22 connected to the neck 20. The closure 1 6 comprises a cap 24 and a tamper evident band 26 connected to the cap 24, the tamper evident band 26 arranged to separate from the cap 24 when the closure 1 6 is removed from the pour spout 12. The pour spout fitment 10 is designed to be fitted to a container such as a juice carton.

The pour spout 12 is provided with an external screw thread 30 and the closure 1 6 is provided with an internal screw thread 32 that mates with the external screw thread 30 of the pour spout 12. The user of the container is able to open the container by unscrewing the closure 1 6, which causes the cap 24 to separate from the tamper evident band 26, which are connected together by a small number of bridges that are spaced around the periphery of the cap 24. The end user can open and close the cap 24 as many times as the wish after the bridges between the tamper evident band 26 and the cap 24 have been broken.

The pour spout fitment 10 is provided with an additional tamper evident arrangement, which is described in more detail below. The pour spout 12 includes a knob projecting from the pour spout 12, and the closure 1 6, which is rotatably mounted on the pour spout 12, includes a tab 18, such that when the closure 1 6 is rotated relative to the pour spout 12, the tab 18 on the closure 1 6 contacts the knob 14 on the pour spout 12, forcing the tab 18 outwards relative to the pour spout 12. This arrangement provides a very clear visual indication of whether the pour spout fitment 10 has been opened or not.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view from above of the pour spout fitment

10, showing the pour spout 12 including the knob 14 projecting from the pour spout 12, and the closure 1 6 including a tab 18. These are arranged such that when the closure 1 6 is rotated relative to the pour spout 12, the tab 18 on the closure 1 6 contacts the knob 14 on the pour spout 1 2, forcing the tab 18 outwards relative to the pour spout 12. The closure 16 includes a slot 28 and the tab 18 is located within the slot 28. The knob 14 on the pour spout 12 is also located within the slot 28 of the closure 1 6.

The pour spout fitment 10 is actually provided with multiple sets of knobs 14 on the pour spout 12 and tabs 18 on the closure 1 6 such that when the closure 16 is rotated relative to the pour spout 12, each tab 18 on the closure 1 6 contacts a respective knob 14 on the pour spout 12, forcing each tab 18 outwards relative to the pour spout 12. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, four such knobs 14 and tabs 18 are present, although only two are visible from the view shown in Figure 2. A pair of adjacent arrangements is present on opposite sides of the pour spout fitment 10.

When the user opens the pour spout fitment 10 for the first time, they rotate the cap 24 relative to the spout 12, which begins to separate the cap 24 from the tamper evident band 26. At the same time, as the cap 24 rotates, the tab 18 moves towards the knob 14, since the knob 14 is mounted on the pour spout 12 which is stationary relative to the movement of the cap 24. As the tab 18 engages the knob 14, the tab 18 is pushed outwards into a visible sticking out position and the tamper evident band 26 will separate entirely from the cap 24, completing the opening process.

Figure 3 shows the pour spout fitment 10 in the same configuration as that shown in Figure 2, but illustrating a side view of the fitment 10. Here, two adjacent tabs 18 can be seen and two respective knobs 14, prior to the opening of the closure 1 6. Each tab 18 and knob 14 is located within a respective slot 28 and the slots 28 and tabs 18 are formed as part of the tamper evident band 26 which forms the lower part of the closure 1 6, where the cap 24 forms the upper part of the closure 1 6. The tamper evident band 26 and the cap 24 are at this point connected together by bridges.

On the opposite side of the pour spout fitment 10 an identical pair of tamper evident arrangements of tabs 18 and knobs 14 are also present, making four such arrangements in total on this pour spout fitment 10. Each of the four arrangements is identical, being formed from a tab 18 and knob 14 lying within a slot 18 that is present within the tamper evident band 26 of the closure 1 6. Each knob 14 protrudes from the tamper evident band 26 through a respective slot 28 and the top of each knob 14 lies flush with the tamper evident band 26, not extending outwardly more than the band 26.

When the user opens the closure 16 by unscrewing the cap 24, the rotational force exerted by the user's hand on the closure 1 6 forces the tabs 18 into contact with the knobs 14, as the knobs 14 are located on the spout 12 and remain stationary relative to the movement of the tabs 18 located on the closure 1 6. The contact between the knobs 14 and the tabs 18 forces the tabs 18 outwards and away from the neck 20 of the spout 12, creating a readily visible indicator that the closure 1 6 has been opened, since all of the tabs 18 will have been forced outwards, indicating that the closure 1 6 has been opened.

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the pour spout fitment 10 after having been opened, in a view similar to Figure 2 (which shows the same view of the fitment 10 before opening of the closure 1 6). In this Figure, the cap 24 has been screwed back onto the pour spout 12, but it can be clearly seen that the closure 1 6 has been opened, thereby providing the additional tamper evident arrangement. Each of the tabs 18 are sticking out from the tamper evident band 26, which is caused by each of the tabs 18 being pushed outwards by a respective knob 14 when the closure 1 6 is first opened by the end user.

Once the user opens the closure 1 6, then the cap 24 separates from the tamper evident band 26, since the user's rotation of the cap 24 relative to the spout 12 causes the bridges connecting the cap 24 to the tamper evident band 26 to break. However, once the cap 24 is replaced onto the spout 12, as in Figure 4, it is not immediately apparent that the bridges between the cap 24 and the tamper evident band 26 have been broken, and this illustrates the advantage of the tabs 18, which are much more clearly visible in the Figure than the separation of the cap 24 from the tamper evident band 26.

By providing multiple tabs 18 on a pour spout fitment 10, as in Figure 4, then the user will readily see a tab 18 from whichever angle they are viewing the container on which the fitment 10 is mounted. This helps the user to immediately see that the closure 1 6 has already been opened. Once the closure 1 6 has been opened, the tamper evident band 26 has separated from the cap 24 and will no longer rotate, regardless of any rotation of the cap 24. This leaves the tabs 18 in the positions shown in Figure 4, bent outwards and highly visible to any end user who is handling the container on which the fitment 10 is mounted.

Figure 5 shows a second embodiment of the pour spout fitment 10, which differs from the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 4. In this embodiment, the closure 1 6 further includes a tongue 34 and the knob 14 includes an indent 36 such that when the closure 1 6 is rotated relative to the pour spout 12, the tongue 34 becomes located in the indent 36. The tongue 34 of the closure 1 6 extends into the slot 28 of the closure 1 6. The tongue 34 is present to ensure that the tamper evident band 26 is not moved after the closure 1 6 has been opened, which could lead to one or more tabs 18 moving into positions where they are less visible to the user.

As can be seen in Figure 5, there is also a notch 38 present in each tab 18 which is equal and opposite to each of the tongues 34. Figure 6 shows this second embodiment of the pour spout fitment, after the closure 1 6 has been opened. As the user rotates the cap 24, as in the fitment 10 of the first embodiment, each tab 18 contacts a respective knob 14, pushing each of the tabs 18 outwards into its visible position pointing outwards. At the same time, the relative movement between the closure 1 6 and the spout 12 results in the tongue 34 of each closure 1 6 locating within a respective indent 36 of a knob 14.

The presence of the tongues 34 and indents 36 result in the tamper evident band 26 becoming fixed in position relative to the spout 12, since the tongues 34 located within the indents 36 hold the tamper evident band 26 in position. The user can now remove and replace the cap 24 as many times as they wish, the tabs 18 will always be pointing outwards providing the clear visible indication that the closure 1 6 has already been opened and providing a clear tamper evident arrangement. Once the user has opened the container on which the pour spout fitment 10 has been mounted, then the tabs 18 will be forced outwards relative to the pour spout, providing the necessary indication that the container has been opened.