US3199703A - Container closure - Google Patents

Container closure Download PDF

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Publication number
US3199703A
US3199703A US375161A US37516164A US3199703A US 3199703 A US3199703 A US 3199703A US 375161 A US375161 A US 375161A US 37516164 A US37516164 A US 37516164A US 3199703 A US3199703 A US 3199703A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
container
retaining ring
cap portion
neck
closure
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US375161A
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Claude C Alexander
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
West Pharmaceutical Services Inc
Original Assignee
West Co Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by West Co Inc filed Critical West Co Inc
Priority to US375161A priority Critical patent/US3199703A/en
Priority to GB12171/65A priority patent/GB1092935A/en
Priority to ES114257U priority patent/ES114257Y/es
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3199703A publication Critical patent/US3199703A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D41/00—Caps, e.g. crown caps or crown seals, i.e. members having parts arranged for engagement with the external periphery of a neck or wall defining a pouring opening or discharge aperture; Protective cap-like covers for closure members, e.g. decorative covers of metal foil or paper
    • B65D41/32—Caps or cap-like covers with lines of weakness, tearing-strips, tags, or like opening or removal devices, e.g. to facilitate formation of pouring openings
    • B65D41/34—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt
    • B65D41/348—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt the tamper element being rolled or pressed to conform to the shape of the container, e.g. metallic closures
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D41/00—Caps, e.g. crown caps or crown seals, i.e. members having parts arranged for engagement with the external periphery of a neck or wall defining a pouring opening or discharge aperture; Protective cap-like covers for closure members, e.g. decorative covers of metal foil or paper
    • B65D41/32—Caps or cap-like covers with lines of weakness, tearing-strips, tags, or like opening or removal devices, e.g. to facilitate formation of pouring openings
    • B65D41/34—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt
    • B65D41/3404—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt with ratchet-and-pawl mechanism between the container and the closure skirt or the tamper element
    • B65D41/3409—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt with ratchet-and-pawl mechanism between the container and the closure skirt or the tamper element the tamper element being integrally connected to the closure by means of bridges

Definitions

  • the present invention is an improvement on tamper-proof closures of the type shown in application Serial No. 6,655 entitled Container Closure, now Patent No. 3,l58,278 granted November 24, 1964.
  • the closure shown in this application comprises a cap portion adapted to lit over the open upper end of a container and a retaining ring portion in the form of a corrugated skirt formed integrally with the cap portion and connected thereto by tracturable bridge means.
  • This closure is designed for a container such as a bottle or the lilre having a reduced neck portion with spiral threads and a series of spaced axially extending ribs bel w the threaded portion.
  • the retaining ring When the closure is assembled to the bottle, the retaining ring, which has a series of axially extending circumferential grooves, engages over the ribs whereby relative turning of the retaining ring relative to the bottle is prevented.
  • the cap portion When it is desired to remove the cap portion from the container, the cap portion is rotated in a direction to unscrew it thereby fracturing the bridges connecting the cap portion to the retaining ring, the retaining ring being prevented from turning relative to the bottle.
  • the ribs on tA e bottle and the grooves in the retaining ring are suitably oriented so that upon fracturing ot the bridges, the retaining ring drops downwardly relative to the cap portion to give a visual indication that the container has been opened. After the cap portion has been removed, the retaining ring which has been severed from the cap portion may be easily removed from the container and discarded.
  • the corrugated retaininCr ring detracts sornewhat from the overall appearance of the closure.
  • a further problem especially in the larger diameter closures is that since they are generally made oi thin gage metal, the retaining ring in some instances is deformed into an oval shape during handling in the manufactoring process to a point where they do not lit on the container. ln these instances a closure can foul up the operation of the automatic capping machinery.
  • the closure of the present invention is designed to overcome these problems and still provide a truly tamper-prooi construction.
  • the closure comprises a cap portion having a generally cylindrical side wall which is adapted to be pressed to conform with threads on a bottle or the like and a retaining ring which depends from the sidewall of the cap portion and which is detachably connected thereto by tracturable bridge means.
  • the retaining ring is a two-wall construction formed by reversely turning the lower portion of the closure on itself to provide a substantially cylindrical outer Wall section and an inner wall section shaped to provide a series of circumferentialy spaced grooves which cooperate with and engage over ribs on the neclc of the bottle.
  • the inner and outer wall sections form a retaining ring having a rounded lower edge.
  • the advantage of the double wall retaining ring is that the lower edge is rounded thereby eliminating the rough and sharp edges on the prior construction which may present handling dangers in some applications. Furthermore, the rounded edge at the bottom of the retaining ring serves as a pilot in the capping machinery to guide the cap onto the bottle top. Additionally the rounded edge eliminates the problem of chipping or damage of the caps when they are tumbling about in the manufacturing process. Further, the double wall contruction is structurally strong thereby minimizing the problem of distortion oi the retaining ring in handling which as noted above, might present great difficulties in the capping machinery.
  • the entire closure may be made of a thinner gage metal and provide a more sturdy and stable construction so that actually a cost saving is realized insoiar as cost of material is concerned.
  • FG. l is a side elevational View of a container closure in accordance with the present invention with parts broken away to show the construction thereof prior to being secured to a container;
  • PEG. 2 is a side view with parts broken away of the closure prior to formation of the two Wall retaining ring;
  • FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the upper end of a container to which the closure of the present invention is adapted to be applied;
  • FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the closure oi the present invention positioned over the neck of a container;
  • FG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary View similar to Flin. 4 illustrating the closure secured to the threaded neck of the container;
  • FIG. 6 is also an enlarged fragmentary sectional view similar to FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrating the position of the retaining ring after the upper cap portion has been detached therefrom;
  • FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on lines 7 7 of FIG. 4 illustrating the interengaging relation between the retaining ring portion of the closure and the axial ribs on the neck of the container.
  • reference numeral tl designates generally a container closure in accordance with the present invention adapted to be secured over alegres the opening in a container 12.
  • the container 12 may be a bottle or the like such as that illustrated having a reduced neck portion 14 with a spiral thread 16 or other similar locking means formed thereon.
  • An annular flange 1S is formed on the neck of the container beneath'the threaded portion 16 and disposed about the outer periphery of the flange 18 is a series of spaced axially extending ribs 29 which extend from the bottom of the flange 13 toward the top portion thereof and which as lillustrated, taper inwardly at their upper ends to 'facilitate placement of the closure element on the container.
  • the closure element 10 which is preferably formed of a thin, readily deformable sheet metal, such as aluminum but may also be formed of any other suitable materlal, comprises a cap portion 30 adapted to fit over the open upper end of the container 12 to close the same and a retaining ring portion 32 in the present instance formed integrally with the cap portion 30 and depending from lthe lower edge thereof.
  • the cap portion has a side wall 31 and a circular end wall 33.
  • the retaining ring portion 32 of the closure is secured to the lower edge of the slide wall 31 of the cap portion by fracturable means so that it may be easily severed from the cap portion 30 when the cap portion is twisted relative to the retaining ring 32.
  • the fracturable means comprises a series of bridge connections 34 between the cap portion 30 and retaining ring 32 defining7 a series of elongated slots 36 separating the cap portion 30 and the retaining ring 32 intermediate the bridges 34 as illustrated for example in FIG. 1. It is to he noted that any ydesirable number of bridges 34 may be used and all that is necessary is that the connection between the retaining ring 32 and the cap portion 30 be such that the cap may be readily broken or severed from the retaining ring 32 upon the application of a twisting force to the cap portion 30 when the retaining ring 32 is held stationary.
  • the top of the cap portion 30 may be generally crown shaped as indicated at 4Q and knurled about its outer periphery to facilitate gripping the cap portion 33 by the hand of the user.
  • a sealing member 42 may be nested in the crown portion of the cap to seat against the axial end rim of the container to provide a seal when the closure is applied to the container.
  • the crown is of larger diameter than the diameter of a circle defined by the inner extremity of the undulations of the retaining ring thereby to prevent nesting of the closures during production and facilitate their use in an Vautomatic'cap feeding machine.
  • the retaining ring portion 32 comprises an outer wall section 5t) of generally cylindrical form and an inner wall section 52 coextensive with the outer wall section.
  • the inner and outer wall sections are formed integrally, the inner wall section 52 being a continuation of the outer wall section and being formed by reversely bending the retaining ring on itself thereby to provide a rounded edge at the bottom periphery of the retaining ring as at 54.
  • the retaining ring 32 is providedV with means to engage the container in a manner to prevent relative rotation between the container and the retaining ring 32 while permitting limited axial movement of the retaining ring relative to the container.
  • the inner wall section 52 is formed with a plurality of undulations providing a plurality of axially extending grooves 56 extending entirely about the circumference of the inner wall section 52 of the retaining ring.
  • the grooves 56 in the inner wall section S2 of the retaining ring are closely spaced together and further the grooves and ribs have a relatively small transverse dimension with respect to the circumference of the retaining ring and container so that there is no need to accurately index the closure with respect to the container when applying the same thereto.
  • suitable stamping apparatus is provided to shape the closure so that it is generally in the form illustrated in FIG. 2 wherein the lower portion of the closure is in the form of a substantially cylindrical depending skirt 70 connected to a band 72 below the bridges 34 by a frusto-conical wall 74.
  • the skirt 76 is then reversely bent on itself to form inner and outer confronting wall sections and then by suitable means the inner wall section is shaped to provide the series of grooves 56 and an inturned terminal rim 76 confrontingY and substantially parallel to the frusto-conical wall 74.
  • the cap portion 30 of the closure is rotated in a direction to unscrew the cap portion. Since the retaining ring 32 is retained against rotational movement with the cap portion due to engagement of the ribs 2o in the grooves 56, the unscrewing of the cap portion 33 causes fracturing of the bridge members 34. When the bridge members 34 are broken, the retaining ring 32 drops axially downwardly until the lip '76 engages the top of the ribs 2G to the position shown in FIG. 6 so that if the cap portion 30 is again applied to the bottle, there is a substantial gap between the cap and the retaining ringV 32 providing a visual indication that the container has been previously opened. Thus, a truly tamper-proof construction is provided. After the cap portion 3G has been removed from the container, the retaining ring 32 may be readily removed from the container along a straight path axially thereof.
  • the present invention provides a novel tamper-proof closure for a container which is effective in sealing a container and which may be easily removed when desired. Further it will be apparent that the presentinvention provides a novel tamper-proof closure which may be applied to a container by automatic capping mechanism. Further, the double-wall retaining ring provides a comparatively stable and rigid construction thereby minimizing the chance of bending the cap out of shape during handling thereof which would tend to jam the capping machinery. This Vconstruction also has the advantage ⁇ of providing a cap having a pleasing outer ornamental appearance and one devoid of sharp or jagged edges,
  • a container and a closure member adapted to lne-removably secured to the container; said container having an open ended neck portion with at least one external spiral thread portion thereon, an annular ange on said neck at the opposite side of said thread portion from the open end of said neck, said flange having a series of ribs positioned about the periphery thereof extending generally parallel to the axis of said neck portion, said closure member including a generally cylindrical cap portion having one end seated on the neck of said container to close the same and an annular side wall extending downwardly from said one end, a retaining ring portion depending from said cap portion and connected to the annular side wall of said cap portion in a position coaxial with the cap portion by fracturable bridge means, said retaining ring comprising a generally cylindrical outer wall section and an inner wall section confronting the outer wall section and spaced radially inwardly therefrom, said inner and outer wall sections formed integrally to deiine a rounded lower edge, a plurality of grooves on said inner

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Closures For Containers (AREA)
US375161A 1964-06-15 1964-06-15 Container closure Expired - Lifetime US3199703A (en)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US375161A US3199703A (en) 1964-06-15 1964-06-15 Container closure
GB12171/65A GB1092935A (en) 1964-06-15 1965-03-23 Container closure
ES114257U ES114257Y (es) 1964-06-15 1965-06-15 Tapon inviolable.

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US375161A US3199703A (en) 1964-06-15 1964-06-15 Container closure

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3199703A true US3199703A (en) 1965-08-10

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ID=23479747

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US375161A Expired - Lifetime US3199703A (en) 1964-06-15 1964-06-15 Container closure

Country Status (3)

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US (1) US3199703A (es)
ES (1) ES114257Y (es)
GB (1) GB1092935A (es)

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3310191A (en) * 1964-09-15 1967-03-21 Merck Ag E Screw-type closure
US3484012A (en) * 1968-01-22 1969-12-16 Continental Can Co Tamper-proof package
US3675805A (en) * 1970-01-21 1972-07-11 Victor Shane Snap open bottle cap
FR2449610A1 (fr) * 1979-01-02 1980-09-19 Remy Ets Pierre Procede de bouchage inviolable pour bouteille a goulot a vis
WO1983002436A1 (en) * 1982-01-19 1983-07-21 Merctech Inc Safety cap for container particularly for medicines
US4527706A (en) * 1984-02-13 1985-07-09 Owens-Illinois, Inc. Tamper indicating package
US4538740A (en) * 1983-12-27 1985-09-03 Fantasy Flavors, Inc. Tamper resistant closure
US4801031A (en) * 1987-05-28 1989-01-31 Owens-Illinois Closure Inc. Tamper-indicating closures and packages
WO1989002400A1 (en) * 1986-12-04 1989-03-23 Thad Elsmo Tamperproof package
US5027964A (en) * 1989-08-14 1991-07-02 Continental White Cap., Inc. Closure with drop down tamper indicating band and related container finish
US6325227B1 (en) 2000-03-20 2001-12-04 Phoenix Closures, Inc. Tamper-indicating closure with horizontal undercuts
US20130043207A1 (en) * 2010-02-15 2013-02-21 Michel Luzzato Cap for a container neck

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB940119A (es) * 1900-01-01
US725970A (en) * 1902-08-07 1903-04-21 August J Kempien Bottle-stopper.
US2063615A (en) * 1934-08-28 1936-12-08 Empire Metal Cap Co Inc Receptacle and closure therefor
FR1250611A (fr) * 1959-12-02 1961-01-13 Emboutis Metalliques Appliques Capsule perfectionnée

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB940119A (es) * 1900-01-01
US725970A (en) * 1902-08-07 1903-04-21 August J Kempien Bottle-stopper.
US2063615A (en) * 1934-08-28 1936-12-08 Empire Metal Cap Co Inc Receptacle and closure therefor
FR1250611A (fr) * 1959-12-02 1961-01-13 Emboutis Metalliques Appliques Capsule perfectionnée

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3310191A (en) * 1964-09-15 1967-03-21 Merck Ag E Screw-type closure
US3484012A (en) * 1968-01-22 1969-12-16 Continental Can Co Tamper-proof package
US3675805A (en) * 1970-01-21 1972-07-11 Victor Shane Snap open bottle cap
FR2449610A1 (fr) * 1979-01-02 1980-09-19 Remy Ets Pierre Procede de bouchage inviolable pour bouteille a goulot a vis
WO1983002436A1 (en) * 1982-01-19 1983-07-21 Merctech Inc Safety cap for container particularly for medicines
US4538740A (en) * 1983-12-27 1985-09-03 Fantasy Flavors, Inc. Tamper resistant closure
US4527706A (en) * 1984-02-13 1985-07-09 Owens-Illinois, Inc. Tamper indicating package
WO1989002400A1 (en) * 1986-12-04 1989-03-23 Thad Elsmo Tamperproof package
US4801031A (en) * 1987-05-28 1989-01-31 Owens-Illinois Closure Inc. Tamper-indicating closures and packages
US5027964A (en) * 1989-08-14 1991-07-02 Continental White Cap., Inc. Closure with drop down tamper indicating band and related container finish
US6325227B1 (en) 2000-03-20 2001-12-04 Phoenix Closures, Inc. Tamper-indicating closure with horizontal undercuts
US20130043207A1 (en) * 2010-02-15 2013-02-21 Michel Luzzato Cap for a container neck

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES114257U (es) 1965-11-16
GB1092935A (en) 1967-11-29
ES114257Y (es) 1966-11-16

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