U.S. patent application number 09/826075 was filed with the patent office on 2002-10-10 for sealing disc with flexible annular ring.
Invention is credited to Mathes, Todd E., Nilstoft, Clas.
Application Number | 20020144971 09/826075 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25245630 |
Filed Date | 2002-10-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020144971 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Nilstoft, Clas ; et
al. |
October 10, 2002 |
Sealing disc with flexible annular ring
Abstract
A closure for a container consists of a top wall with an annular
skirt depending therefrom and extending downwardly to a terminating
edge. An inner surface of the annular skirt has a retaining bead in
an upper portion of the inner wall. If threads are to used on a
finished closure, then such threads, as desired, replace the
retaining bead. Additionally, the top wall has a flexible annular
ring formed axially along an inner surface and depending downwardly
therefrom and spaced inwardly of the skirt. A sealing disc is
disposed above the retaining bead and below the flexible annular
ring. The flexible annular ring has a diameter larger than the
inner diameter of the retaining bead. Furthermore, the flexible
annular ring is the same diameter as a container rim of a container
to be sealed by the closure of the present invention. Another
preferred closure substitutes a glue post mounted along an inner
surface of the top wall for the retaining bead in order to attach
the sealing disc to the inside of the closure.
Inventors: |
Nilstoft, Clas; (Evansville,
IN) ; Mathes, Todd E.; (Newburgh, IN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JOHN F. SALAZAR
MIDDLETON & REUTLINGER
2500 BROWN & WILLIAMSON TOWER
LOUISVILLE
KY
40202
US
|
Family ID: |
25245630 |
Appl. No.: |
09/826075 |
Filed: |
April 4, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/350 ;
215/351 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 41/0442 20130101;
B65D 41/045 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
215/350 ;
215/351 |
International
Class: |
B65D 053/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A closure for a container comprising: a top wall with an annular
skirt depending therefrom and extending downwardly to a terminating
edge; an inner surface of said annular skirt having a retaining
mechanism; said top wall having a flexible annular ring formed
along an inner surface and depending downwardly therefrom, said
flexible annular ring spaced inwardly of said skirt; a sealing disc
disposed above said retaining mechanism and below said flexible
annular ring.
2. The closure for a container of claim 1, said retaining mechanism
being a retaining bead.
3. The closure for a container of claim 1, said retaining mechanism
being an upper surface of at least one thread formed on an upper
portion of said inner wall.
4. The closure for a container of claim 3, said thread including at
least one helical thread.
5. The closure for a container of claim 1, said flexible annular
ring compressively contacting an upper surface of a container
neck.
6. The closure of claim 1 wherein said sealing disc has a diameter
which is larger than an inner diameter of said retaining
mechanism.
7. The closure of claim 1 further comprising a central post
extending downward from said top wall, said sealing disc having an
aperture formed centrally there through, said central post
extending through said aperture.
8. The closure of claim 7 wherein said retention mechanism further
comprises an outwardly extending bead extending from said central
post and contacting a lower interior surface of said sealing
disc.
9. A closure for a container comprising: a top wall with an annular
skirt depending therefrom and extending downwardly to a terminating
edge, said top wall having an inner surface; an inner surface of
said annular skirt having a retaining mechanism; a compressible
annular ring formed on said top wall inner surface and depending
downwardly therefrom, said compressible annular ring spaced
inwardly of said skirt; a downwardly extending central post formed
on said top wall inner surface interior from said compressible
annular ring; a sealing disc disposed above said retaining
mechanism and below said flexible annular ring and having an
aperture formed therethrough; said post extending through said
aperture in said sealing disc.
10. A closure for a container, said closure consisting of: a top
wall with an annular skirt depending therefrom and extending
downwardly to a terminating edge; said top wall having a flexible
annular ring formed along an inner surface and depending downwardly
therefrom; said top wall of said closure having a post located on
an inner surface of said top wall, said post depending downwardly
therefrom, and located inboard of said flexible annular ring; a
sealing disc attached to said post and below said flexible annular
ring; said sealing disc having a diameter larger than said flexible
annular ring.
11. The closure for a container of claim 10, said flexible annular
ring having a diameter equal to a diameter of a container rim of a
container to be sealed by said closure.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to safety closures for use on
containers which remain sealed during the backing up of the closure
onto a container. More particularly, this invention relates to
providing a sealing disc on a closure which is held in place by a
retaining bead formed on an upper portion of an interior of a side
wall of the closure.
[0003] 2. Discussion of the Prior Art
[0004] Current closures with sealing features often utilize some
form of sealing disc. In addition, some closures utilize retaining
beads or the like to keep the sealing disc from falling out upon
opening. Some current closures have an annular ring of a narrower
diameter than the neck and therefore not generally in line with a
sealing land on an upper surface of the container neck. Such an
annular ring is formed in order to secure the sealing disc onto the
neck. A closure of the type as taught in FIG. 2 of U.S. Pat. No.
4,460,428 to Chang displays visible distortion to the sealing disc
by virtue of the fact that its annular ring is of a smaller
diameter than the neck diameter of the corresponding container.
Such distortion can result in leaks as the closure is backed down
to lock. Because of this fact, if sealing is desired after the
closure is fully locked onto the container, the sealing disc must
be made thicker and therefore more resistant to unwanted distortion
as a result of mismatch of diameters. Therefore, there is a need
for a closure which provides for physical alignment of structural
parts which reduces distortion of sealing discs and which as a
consequence includes thinner sealing discs which are less expensive
to manufacture and easier to produce than those found currently in
the art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a sealing
disc on a closure for a container which is held in place by a
retaining mechanism formed on an upper portion of an inner side
wall of the closure.
[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
closure which has a flexible annular ring fixedly attached inside
the top of the closure wherein the flexible annular ring is aligned
directly over a container lip, thereby keeping the seal in contact
with the container lip as the closure backs up to lock onto the
container.
[0007] An even further object of the present invention is to
provide a closure for a container which includes said retaining
mechanism being a glue post.
[0008] A further object of the present invention is to provide a
closure for a container including a retaining mechanism being
either a retaining bead or a glue post and which includes helical
threads formed on an interior of a side wall and which
correspondingly mate to threads formed on a container neck
finish.
[0009] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
closure for a container including a retaining mechanism being
either a glue post or an upper surface of helical threads formed on
an interior of a side wall and which correspondingly mate to
threads formed on a container neck finish.
[0010] More particularly, the present invention provides a sealing
disc on a closure which is held in place by a retaining mechanism
formed on an upper portion of an inner side wall of the closure.
The closure can be either a single-wall or double-wall closure, as
desired. The retaining mechanism is preferably a retaining bead.
However, another preferred embodiment includes helical threads
formed upon the closure. An upper surface of the helical threads of
such a closure may serve, as desired, either as a replacement for a
retaining bead, or in combination with a retaining bead, as the
retaining mechanism to secure the sealing liner within the
closure.
[0011] A flexible annular ring is fixedly attached inside the top
of the closure wherein the flexible annular ring holds the sealing
disc in contacting relation with a container rim in order to seal
the container as the closure backs up to lock. The flexible annular
ring is placed inside the top of the closure in direct vertical
alignment with the container rim. The flexible annular ring is of
the same diameter as the container rim. Of particular benefit, less
leakage past the sealing disc occurs due to minimal distortion of
the sealing disc as the closure backs up to lock. Alternatively, a
glue post is used as a retaining mechanism instead of a retaining
bead in order to secure the sealing disc to the closure. Closures
of the present invention incorporate helical threads, locking lugs,
and other structure in order to fasten the closure to the
container. Additionally, closures having features of the present
invention are further fitted with tamper-indicating and child
resistant structure as required.
[0012] Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear
from the following description and appended claims, reference being
had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the
specification wherein like reference characters designate
corresponding parts into several views.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] A better understanding of the invention will be had upon
reference to the following description in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings in which like numerals refer to like parts
throughout the several views and wherein:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred closure of the
present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1 taken along lines 2-2
and, additionally, with a container neck shown in contacting
relation with the closure for clarity;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of another preferred closure of
the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of another preferred closure of
the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of another closure of the present
invention wherein the sealing disc is annular; and,
[0019] FIG. 6 is a top view of the annular disc shown in FIG.
5.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0020] In the FIGS. is shown a closure 10 formed in accordance with
the present invention. Closure 10 may be single-wall or
double-wall, as desired. FIG. 2 shows a single-wall closure 10
having a top wall 12, and an annular skirt 11 depending therefrom
and extending downwardly to a terminating edge. It is clear that if
a double-wall closure is desired, then the annular skirt 11
described above and hereinafter is actually an inner wall of such a
double-wall closure 10.
[0021] The annular skirt 11 includes an outer surface 14 and an
inner surface 16. A circumferentially extending retaining mechanism
such as a retaining bead 20 is disposed along an upper portion of
the inner surface 16.
[0022] If an embodiment of the closure 10 is intended to have
threads 50 as shown in FIG. 4, then the threads 50 themselves
serve, as desired, as the retaining mechanism, and the retaining
bead 20 is not necessary on such an embodiment.
[0023] Referring back to FIG. 2, a flexible annular ring 18 is
formed axially inside the top wall 12 and extending downward
therefrom with its downwardmost edge pointing inwards towards the
center of the closure 10. A sealing disc 30 is located below, but
in contact with flexible annular ring 18, and above, but in initial
contact with the retaining bead 20. The sealing disc 30 is placed
in contacting relation with a container rim 42 in order to seal a
container 40 as the closure 10 backs up to lock. As the closure 10
backs up to lock, the annular skirt 11 may move downwards in
relation to the location of the sealing disc 30 when the closure 10
is not fastened to the container 40. As such motion occurs, the
retaining bead 20 may move down and away from the sealing disc 30.
The seal between the closure 10 and the container 40 remains
unbroken throughout this axial movement due to the downward
pressure exerted upon the sealing disc 30 by the flexible annular
ring 18. In fact, such downward pressure increases as the closure
10 backs up to lock and the annular skirt 11 moves downwards in
relation to the location of the sealing disc 30 which is seated on
the container rim 42.
[0024] As shown in FIG. 3, an alternative embodiment of a closure
of the present invention utilizes a glue post 22 instead of a
retaining bead 20 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The glue post is shown as a
projection downwards from a surface of the top wall 12, and
positioned axially inside of the flexible annular ring 18. Ideally,
the glue post 22 projects downwards only so far as to allow the
flexible annular ring 18 to exert enough pressure on the sealing
disc 30 to create and maintain a seal between the closure 10 and
the container 40. Adhesives and methods including induction sealing
are used to secure the sealing disc 30 to the glue post 22.
[0025] FIG. 4 shows a closure which utilizes threads 50 in place of
the retaining bead 20 of FIGS. 1 and 2, or the glue post 22 of FIG.
3. The threads 50 are formed to correspond with container threads
44, as desired, and so that they retain the sealing disc 30 inside
of the closure 10. Such threads 50 include helical threads, as
desired.
[0026] In a preferred embodiment, the diameter of the flexible
annular ring 18 is the same as the diameter of the container rim 42
in order to minimize distortion of the rotary sealing liner 30.
Without such distortion, the sealing disc 30 is allowably thinner
and thereby more readily inserted into the closure 10 during
manufacture.
[0027] As depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6, alternatively the sealing disc
130 may be annular with an opening 126 centrally formed therein.
The post 122 of the closure 100 may extend downward through the
opening 126. Retention bead 120 may be formed on the interior side
wall of the closure to hold the sealing disc 130 in place. Matching
retention bead 124 may extend outwardly from the post 122 in order
to contact the underside interior portion of the sealing disc
adjacent the opening 126. Bead 124 may also be utilized to seal
internally the neck 40 of the container. As in the prior
embodiments, ring 18 extends downwardly and contacts the top
surface of the ring 130 and compresses it against the top rim 42 of
the container.
[0028] The detailed description is given primarily for clearness of
understanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood
therefrom for modifications will become obvious to those skilled in
the art upon reading this disclosure and may be made without
departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the
appended claims.
* * * * *