The present invention relates generally to a closure and particularly to a self-piercing closure suitable for use in conjunction with a container of the type having a laminar closing member such as a foil panel which must be breached in order to gain access to the contents of the container.

It is known to provide self-piercing closures which include some means of breaching a laminar closing member, such as a cutting or piercing member which forms part of the closure and is suitable to cut or pierce the closing member. For example EP 1234778 describes a closure which pierces and cuts a panel out of the closing member and also lifts and retains it in the closure. However, existing closures do not subsequently have the ability to regulate and control the flow of product subsequently leaving the container through the breached closing member. The present invention seeks to address the problems with known self-piercing closures.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a self-piercing closure for a container of a type having a laminar closing member, the closure comprising a closure body and having piercing means for piercing a closing member in use, the closure further comprising a self-closing valve for dispensing flowable media from a container following piercing of the closing member is use.

The present invention therefore combines a valve into a self-piercing closure arrangement so that once the laminar closing member is breached the flow of product from the container is under the control of the self-closing valve which has benefits including smooth product flow and prevention of leakage. The term "piercing means" is intended to cover any mechanism for penetrating the laminar closure member including cutting, piercing, slicing, tearing, punching and the like. The closure may comprise a piercing member for providing the piercing means. The piercing member may be provided as an integral part of the closure body or may be provided as a separate component which is attachable to the closure body.

The piercing member may be formed separately from and be attachable to the closure body. For example the member may be formed as a separate insert which can be clipped or otherwise connected into the body, for example from 'underneath'. In some embodiments the member is formed as an annular cutting wheel which snap-fits into the body and carries a plurality of cutting teeth projecting at one end. The piercing member may therefore service the dual functions of clipping the valve into place and carrying cutting/piercing means.

The piercing member may retain or help to retain the self-closing valve in the closure. For example, the self-closing valve may be assembled into the main closure body and then the piercing member is fitted into the closure body in such a way that it retains the self-closing valve.

The piercing member may comprise engagement means for attaching to the body. For example the member and body may be provided with co-operating snap-fit engagement means (such as snap beads) .

The closure may be movable from a first position to a second position to activate the piercing means. For example, a push button or a bistable support part may be used. The closure body may comprise a deformable region for allowing it to move from the first to the second position as it is activated. The deformable region may be thinned to assist movement. The deformation may be achieved by a 'rolling' action in which part of the body turns in on itself, for example moving from an L-shape to a U-shape.

The closure may be formed in the second position and moved to the first position prior to activation. For example, if the closure is moulded from a thermoplastics material it can be moulded in the 'activated' position and then moved to the non-activated initial position before it has cooled. This sets the 'memory' of the material to the activated position so that in use it moves more easily away from the unpierced, rest position back to the activated position.

Closures according to the present invention may be formed so that the closure does not have to be removed in order to pierce the closing member.

The closure may comprise a base and a lid, which may be connected together by a hinge such as a snap hinge. Such flip-top closures are increasingly common.

The piercing means may be carried on or by the base and similarly the self-closing valve may be carried on or by the base.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a self-piercing closure having a self-closing valve. According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a container having a closure as described herein.

The present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a section of a closure formed according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a piercing member forming part of the closure of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a section of a closure formed according to an alternative embodiment; Figure 4 is a perspective underplan view of part of the closure of Figure 3;

Figure 5 shows a section of part of the closure of Figure 3 and 4 with a bistable neck region shown in a second, activated position; and

Figure 6 is a section of the closure part of Figure 5 with the neck region shown in a first, unactivated position;

Referring first to Figure 1 there is shown a closure generally indicated 10. The closure 10 comprises a body including a generally cylindrical base 20 and a lid 30 connected to each other by a hinge 40.

The closure 10 is shown fitted to a container neck 50 which at its open end is sealed by a laminar foil panel 60 which in this embodiment has been heat sealed into position.

The base 20 comprises a cylindrical sidewall 21 which includes internal screwthread formations 22 for engaging corresponding external screwthread formations 51 on the container neck 50.

At the end of the sidewall adjacent the lid 30, a platform 22 extends radially inwardly.

From the inner edge of the platform 22 an upstanding collar 23 is provided which forms a chimney-like spout. At the opposite end of the collar 23 to the platform 22 a sealing portion 24 extends radially inwardly and defines at its centre an aperture 25. Approximately half way along the portion 24 an annular sealing leg 26 depends and terminates with a sealing bead 27. The arm 24 terminates with a wedge-shape portion 28 which includes a downwardly depending section.

A self-closing valve 70 is provided. The valve 70 is of standard construction and briefly comprises a generally triangular section support ring 71 , a J-shape connecting wall 72 and a generally disc-shape concave valve head 73.

The valve 70 is fitted into the base 20 so that the segment 71 abuts against the portion 28 and the opposingly inclined surfaces allow for a stable interaction.

Referring now also to Figure 2 a piercing member 80 is provided.

The member 80 is generally annular and comprises a retention band 81 from which depends a cutting region comprising a plurality of teeth 82 and a single arcuate blade 83. At the end of the collar 81 opposite the teeth 82 a bead 84 projects radially inwardly. Extending parallel to the collar 81 on the opposite side of the teeth 82 is a retention jaw 85. In use, with the self-closing valve assembled into the base, the member 80 is snap fitted on to the base so that the bead 84 clips over the bead 27. At the same time, the jaw 85 engages the segment 71 so that it is held firmly between the portion 28 and the jaw 85. For this purpose the jaw 85 includes an inclined surface oppositely inclined to that side of the segment 71 .

The lid 30 comprises a generally disc-shape top plate 31 from which depends a cylindrical sidewall. A cylindrical bead 33 depends from the underside of the top plate 31 and is positioned to engage around the neck 23 to provide at least an initial seal. Referring now to Figures 3 and 4 a closure 1 10 formed according to an alternative embodiment is shown. The closure 1 10 is very similar to the closure 10. In this embodiment a heat sealable liner 160 is provided and fits into the base 120 under the platform 122. In use the closure 1 10 is fitted onto a container neck (not shown) and induction is used to seal the liner onto the neck. Subsequently the piercing process is as described below.

In Figures 5 and 6 the closure body of Figures 3 and 4 is shown with the liner, valve and piercing member removed for clarity. Figure 5 shows the closure in an as-moulded condition in which the neck is depressed and represents an activated position. Figure 6 shows the closure in a resting or unactivated position which in use would be how the closure would be provided on a product.

By moulding the closure in the activated position it can be pushed out before final cooling to the unactivated position, but the 'memory' of the material will be set to the activated position. This makes subsequent movement from the unactivated to the activated position much easier.

In the activated position the neck adopts a generally U-shape configuration and in the unactivated position it adapts a generally L-shape configuration.

In use the neck is pushed down, which carries with it the piercing member and the valve. The piercing member will pierce the seal, allowing product from a container to flow through the valve.

In some embodiments it may be necessary for a degree of relative rotation of the closure with respect to the panel to be employed in order to result in a satisfactory breaching of the panel.