U.S. patent application number 10/808652 was filed with the patent office on 2005-09-29 for skirted closure for small dropper bottles.
Invention is credited to Butorac, Paul T., Spada, Lon T..
Application Number | 20050211734 10/808652 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34988578 |
Filed Date | 2005-09-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050211734 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Spada, Lon T. ; et
al. |
September 29, 2005 |
Skirted closure for small dropper bottles
Abstract
A closure for a dropper bottle includes a nozzle having a neck
and a shoulder. The neck includes an aperture at an end thereof for
dropwise dispensing of a liquid, and the shoulder includes an
outstanding circumferential ring and threads disposed between the
ring and the neck. A cap is provided with a top and an axially
downwardly extending skirt. The top has a seat for sealably
engaging the aperture, and the skirt has internal grooves for
engaging the nozzle threads and an internal circumferential lip for
sealably engaging the ring. The lip is spaced apart from the
aperture for enabling simultaneous sealing of the aperture and the
ring upon rotation of said cap onto said nozzle.
Inventors: |
Spada, Lon T.; (Walnut,
CA) ; Butorac, Paul T.; (Lake Forest, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WALTER A. HACKLER, Ph.D.
PATENT LAW OFFICE
SUITE B
2372 S.E. BRISTOL STREET
NEWPORT BEACH
CA
92660-0755
US
|
Family ID: |
34988578 |
Appl. No.: |
10/808652 |
Filed: |
March 24, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
222/420 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 41/0428
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
222/420 |
International
Class: |
B65D 047/18 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A closure for a dropper bottle, said closure comprising: a
nozzle disposed on the bottle and having a neck and a shoulder,
said neck having an aperture at an end thereof for dropwise
dispensing of a liquid, said shoulder having an outstanding
circumferential ring and threads disposed between the ring and said
neck; and a cap having a top and an axially downwardly extending
skirt, said top having a seat for sealably engaging said aperture,
said skirt having internal grooves for engaging the shoulder
threads and an internal circumferential lip for sealably engaging
the ring, the lip being spaced apart from said aperture for
enabling simultaneous sealing of said aperture and the ring upon
rotation of said cap onto said nozzle.
2. A closure for a dropper bottle, said closure comprising: a
nozzle disposed on a bottle and having a neck and a shoulder, said
neck having an aperture at one end thereof for dropwise dispensing
of a liquid, said shoulder having internal threads; and a cap
having a top and an axially downwardly extending skirt, said skirt
having internal grooves for engaging the shoulder threads and means
for sealing the threads and grooves from the environment.
3. The closure according to claim 2 further comprising an interior
seat formed in the cap top for sealably engaging said aperture.
4. The closure according to claim 3 wherein said means for sealing
the threads and grooves from the environment comprises an
outstanding circumferential ring formed in said shoulder and an
internal circumferential lip for sealably engaging the shoulder
ring.
5. The closure according to claim 4 wherein said lip and aperture
are spaced apart from one another for enabling simultaneous sealing
of said aperture and the shoulder ring.
6. The closure according to claim 1 wherein said nozzle is formed
on said bottle.
7. A closure for a dropper bottle, said closure comprising: a
nozzle formed on a bottle and having a neck and a shoulder, said
neck having an aperture at one end thereof for dropwise dispensing
of a liquid, said shoulder having an internal formation for
engaging a corresponding formation on an external portion of said
neck and an outstanding circumferential ring; and a cap having a
top and an axially downwardly extending skirt, said top having a
seat for sealably engaging said aperture, said skirt having an
internal circumferential lip for sealably engaging the shoulder
ring.
8. The closure according to claim 7 wherein the shoulder internal
formation comprises threads and the corresponding formation
comprises grooves.
9. The closure according to claim 8 wherein said aperture and said
internal circumferential lip are spaced apart from one another for
enabling simultaneous sealing of said aperture and ring upon
rotation of the cap onto said nozzle.
10. The claim according to claim 9 wherein said nozzle is formed on
said bottle.
Description
[0001] The present invention generally relates to closure devices
and more particularly relates to an injected molded closure for a
dropper bottle which provides for simultaneous sealing of a nozzle
outlet and protection of internal formations for enabling
engagement and disengagement of the closure with a bottle.
[0002] A great number of injection molded caps have been developed
over the years for the sealing of dispensing vials and bottles
during non-use thereof.
[0003] Generally two types of bottle caps have been developed,
namely push-on-caps and thread-on-caps. Push-on-caps are installed
by aligning the cap with the opening of the bottle and simply
applying an axial force to the top of the cap.
[0004] As is evident, a thread-on-cap generally requires that the
cap and bottle be aligned and a rotational force applied to the
cap, or bottle, in order to produce a sealing engagement.
[0005] Heretofore, however, such sealing engagements have been
directed principally to a nozzle outlet for preventing ejection of
liquid from the bottle when not in use. This seal is typically
effective for squeezable droppers or bottles, which may be
inadvertently squeezed. That is, the seal for the nozzle outlet of
such dropper bottles must be sealed with sufficient pressure to
prevent the passage of fluid or liquid upon pressure being applied
to the bottle.
[0006] However, none of these devices have addressed the
contamination problem with regard to the threaded engagement
between the cap and the bottle or nozzle shoulder. That is,
contaminants may enter the nozzle and nozzle aperture area by
contamination of the threads and migrate therepast by a operation
of the screw threads during removal and replacement of the cap or
closure on the bottle nozzle. In addition, fluid that may be
exerted past the nozzle aperture seal will pass into the
environment with prior art devices.
[0007] The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the
prior art and provides for a dropper bottle closure which not only
seals the nozzle aperture, but also seals the threaded engagement
of the closure with the nozzle from the environment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] A closure for a dropper bottle in accordance with the
present invention generally includes a nozzle disposed on a bottle
and having a neck and a shoulder with the neck having an aperture
at one end thereof for dropwise disbursement of a liquid and the
shoulder having an internal formation for engaging a corresponding
formation on an external portion of the neck. Preferably, these
formations are in the form of threads and grooves.
[0009] More specifically, the nozzle includes a shoulder having an
outstanding circumferential ring and threads disposed between the
ring and the neck.
[0010] A cap is provided which includes a top and an axially
downwardly extending skirt. The top includes a seat for sealably
engaging an aperture at one end of the nozzle neck and the skirt
includes internal grooves for engaging the nozzle threads along
with an internal circumferential lip for sealably engaging the
shoulder ring. This seal arrangement protects the threads from
environmental contamination. The shoulder ring is spaced apart from
the seat for enabling simultaneous sealing of the aperture and the
ring upon rotation of the cap onto the nozzle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The advantages and features of the present invention will be
better understood by the following description when considered in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a closure in accordance with
the present invention for a dropper bottle generally showing a
nozzle disposed on a bottle having a neck and a shoulder along with
a cap having a top and an axially downwardly extending skirt;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the closure in
accordance with the present invention showing the cap disposed n
the nozzle before rotation thereof; and
[0014] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the present invention
showing simultaneous sealing of an aperture in the nozzle neck and
base circumferential ring seal arrangement for protecting threads
in the screws in the nozzle and cap skirt respectively.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] With reference to FIGS. 1-3, there is shown a closure 10 in
accordance with the present invention which generally includes a
nozzle 12 disposed on a bottle 14 and having a neck 18 and a
shoulder 20. The nozzle 12 may be inserted into the bottle 14 or
otherwise formed therein.
[0016] The closure 10 may be formed from any suitable injection
multiple polymer preferably polypropylene. The closure 10 is most
suitable for small bottles having a capacity of less than about 8
ml which necessitates small closure 10. Such small closures makes
removal of the cap difficult especially where the primary user may
be elderly or with limited hand mobility. This is further a concern
for dropper bottles where the elderly are the primary users.
[0017] As hereinafter described in greater detail, the shoulder 20
includes a circumferential ring 24 and threads 26 disposed between
the ring 24 and the neck 18.
[0018] The closure 10 further includes a cap 30 having a top 32 and
an axially downwardly extending skirt 34.
[0019] The skirt 34 enhances the physical size of the cap 30 and
thus facilitates its use by elderly or infirmed individuals as
hereinabove noted which may heretofore have had difficulty in
handling prior art caps, not shown, for small prior art bottles,
also not shown.
[0020] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the top 32 includes a seat 36 for
sealably engaging an aperture 38 in the neck 18 as illustrated in
FIG. 3. The skirt 34 includes internal grooves 40 for engaging the
threads 26 and an internal circumferential lip 44 for engaging the
ring 24.
[0021] Importantly, the lip 44 is spaced apart from the aperture 38
for enabling simultaneous sealing of the aperture 38 and the ring
24 upon rotation of the cap 30 onto the nozzle 12.
[0022] Although there has been hereinabove described a specific
skirted closure for small dropper bottles in accordance with the
present invention for the purpose of illustrating the manner in
which the invention may be used to advantage, it should be
appreciated that the invention is not limited thereto. That is, the
present invention may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist
essentially of the recited elements. Further, the invention
illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the
absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein.
Accordingly, any and all modifications, variations or equivalent
arrangements which may occur to those skilled in the art, should be
considered to be within the scope of the present invention as
defined in the appended claims.
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