U.S. patent application number 11/514783 was filed with the patent office on 2007-06-21 for beverage container re-closing cover.
Invention is credited to Jerrold Erickson.
Application Number | 20070138178 11/514783 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38172264 |
Filed Date | 2007-06-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070138178 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Erickson; Jerrold |
June 21, 2007 |
Beverage container re-closing cover
Abstract
A generally non-removable and compact beverage container
re-closing cover that can be attached to the can via the center
rivet and seals and unseals the opening of the can by rotation
without protruding outside the can's rim in any direction. The
re-closing cover may be used to keep out undesired objects such as
insects from entering the can, maintain the quality of the
ingredients in the can, and prevent the contents of the can from
spilling. The re-closing cover can serve the above functions with
convenience and ease to the user, without interfering with shipping
and packaging, and without requiring complex manufacturing. The
invention can be adapted to any type of beverage can including soda
cans, beer cans and the like.
Inventors: |
Erickson; Jerrold; (Lombard,
IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Vasilios D. Dossas;Niro, Scavone, Haller & Niro
Suite 4600
181 West Madison Street
Chicago
IL
60602
US
|
Family ID: |
38172264 |
Appl. No.: |
11/514783 |
Filed: |
September 1, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60714082 |
Sep 2, 2005 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
220/254.4 ;
220/269; 220/821; 220/906 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 17/4014
20180101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/254.4 ;
220/821; 220/269; 220/906 |
International
Class: |
B65D 51/18 20060101
B65D051/18; B65D 17/34 20060101 B65D017/34; B65D 43/18 20060101
B65D043/18 |
Claims
1. A re-closable pop-top can comprising a non-removable cover
member rotatable around a soda can top to cover or uncover an
access port by rotation of said cover member, said cover member
attached at a periphery to a central rivet in said soda can wherein
said central rivet also holds a popping tab, said cover member
rotatable by rotating said popping tab.
2. The re-closable pop-top can of claim 1 wherein said cover member
is elliptical.
3. The re-closable pop-top can of claim 1 wherein said cover member
is concave downward.
4. The re-closable pop-top can of claim 1 wherein said cover member
made from one of the group of materials consisting of rubber,
plastic and metal.
5. The re-closable pop-top can of claim 1 wherein said cover member
is rotatable 360 degrees around said can top.
6. The re-closable pop-top can of claim 1 wherein said can has a
rim, and said cover rotates without engaging said rim.
7. A re-closing apparatus for a pop-top can comprising, in
combination: a pop-top can with a rim and a pop-top; a flexible
closing cover with a rivet hole in its periphery; a pop-top tab
with a rivet hole in one end; a rivet passing through the hole in
said closing cover and the hole in said pop-top tab, wherein said
rivet holds said closing cover against the top of said can and the
pop-top tab against said closing cover so that when said can is
opened, said closing cover can be rotated between a closed position
and an open position by rotating said pop-top tab.
8. The re-closing apparatus of claim 7 wherein said closing cover
is elliptical.
9. The re-closing apparatus of claim 7 wherein said closing cover
is made from one of the group of materials consisting of rubber,
plastic and metal.
10. The re-closing apparatus of claim 7 wherein said closing cover
is concave downward.
11. The re-closing apparatus of claim 7 wherein said closing cover
rotates 360 degrees along the top of said can without touching said
rim.
12. A method of manufacturing a pop-top can with a rotatable
re-closing member comprising the steps of: making a hole in the
center of a pop-top can to be assembled; making a hole in a
rotatable closing member near its periphery; making a hole in a
pop-top tab. placing said rotatable closing member on said can with
the hole in its periphery aligned with the hole in said can;
placing said tab on said rotatable closing member with the hole in
said tab aligned with the hole in said rotatable closing member;
placing a rivet through said aligned holes; setting said rivet.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein said rotatable closing member is
made from one of the materials from the group consisting of rubber,
plastic and metal.
14. The method of claim 12 wherein said rotatable closing member is
elliptical.
15. The method of claim 12 wherein said rotatable closing member
can rotate 360 degrees.
16. The method of claim 12 wherein said pop-top can has a rim and
said rotatable closing member rotates without engaging said rim.
Description
[0001] This application is related to and claims priority from U.S.
provisional patent application No. 60/714,082 filed Sep. 2, 2005.
Application No. 60/714,082 is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates generally to the field of
container seals and more particularly to a beverage container
re-closing cover.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] It is desirable in the field of container seals to have a
beverage container re-closing cover that prevents the contents of
the can from spilling, maintains the quality of the ingredients in
the can, and keeps out undesired objects and insects. It is also
desirable that the can re-closing cover be easy and convenient to
use, and that it not interfere with shipping and packaging and not
require complex manufacturing.
[0006] Morris in U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,924 teaches a removable
plastic cover that can be used to keep out undesired objects from a
can and prevent the contents of the can from spilling. However, the
cover is inconvenient to use because the user must take steps to
clamp and align it onto the opening of the can. In addition, since
the cover is removable, it may get lost or contaminated with
undesired objects before use. Another limitation of the cover in
the Morris patent is that it is bulky and protrudes outside the
outer edges of the can. Such a design prevents covered cans from
being stacked, which subsequently interferes with shipping and
packaging.
[0007] Cho in U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,559 teaches different covers that
are either attached to or part of the tab. The user may rotate the
cover towards the opening of a can to keep out undesired objects
and toxic materials. However, the different versions of the cover
protrude to the outer rim of the can. Thus, such a design will
interfere significantly with shipping and packaging. Moreover, the
bulky design of the covers may prevent the formation of a tight
seal around the opening of the can. Consequently, the design will
affect the ability of the covers to prevent spills or maintain the
quality of the ingredients in the can.
[0008] Jamieson in U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,830 teaches different covers
that can either be inserted onto or attached to the tab. The covers
contain overhangs that protrude outside the edges of the can. The
user may utilize these overhangs to rotate the cover towards the
opening to keep insects out of the can and mitigate spills.
However, the bulky and protruding nature of the covers may
interfere with shipping and packaging. In addition, the design of
the covers in the Jamieson patent, like those of the Cho patent,
may prevent the formation of a tight seal around the opening of the
can, thereby preventing the covers from stopping spills or
maintaining the quality of the ingredients in the can. Jamieson
mentions that a rubber-like thin layer can be mounted underneath
the cover to form a tighter seal around the opening and thus enable
the covers to serve such functions. However, such a step would
burden the manufacturer of the cover with additional design, labor
and material costs.
[0009] Johnson in U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,100 teaches a compact cover
that is attached to the tab and does not protrude outside the edges
of the can. The purpose of this cover is to keep insects out of an
opened can and concomitantly allow the user to consume the
beverage. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the long apertures that span
the can opening help achieve these dual properties. Due to such a
design, the cover cannot prevent spills or maintain the quality of
the ingredients of an opened can. In addition, the cover generally
cannot block the entry of smaller non-insect objects into a can,
such as dust, pollen, or microbes.
[0010] It would be advantageous to have a beverage container
re-closing cover that is easy to use and manufacture, prevents
spills, maintains the quality of the ingredients in the can, and
keeps out undesired objects from the can without interfering with
shipping and packaging.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] It is an objective of the present invention to provide a
beverage container re-closing cover that prevents the contents of
the can from spilling. Another objective of the present invention
is to provide a re-closing cover that maintains the quality and
flavor of the ingredients in the can by mitigating oxidation and a
substantial loss in carbonation. It is another objective of the
present invention to provide a re-closing cover that prevents
undesired objects such as allergens, microbes and insects from
entering the can. It is therefore desirable that the beverage
container re-closing cover of the present invention forms a tight
seal around the opening of the can.
[0012] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a
re-closing cover that does not interfere with packaging and
shipping. It is therefore desirable that the beverage container
re-closing cover of the present invention be compact and not
protrude outside the rim of the can in any direction such that it
interferes with stacking.
[0013] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a
beverage container re-closing cover that is easy to use. It is
therefore desirable that the can re-closing cover of the present
invention is attached to the can by the manufacturer and be
non-removable. It is also desirable that the can re-closing cover
of the present invention is operated without requiring detailed
instructions or multiple steps.
[0014] It is finally an objective of the present invention to
provide a beverage container re-closing cover that does not require
complex manufacturing. It is therefore desirable that the
re-closing cover of the present invention inherently forms a tight
seal around the opening of the can and does not require that the
manufacturer make modifications to improve its sealing
capabilities.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The present invention will be more clearly understood from
the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the
present invention
[0017] FIG. 2 shows a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.
[0018] FIG. 3A shows a top view of a re-closing cover being rotated
towards the opening of a soda can.
[0019] FIG. 3B shows a top view of a re-closing cover on the
opening of a soda can.
[0020] FIG. 4A shows a top view of an embodiment of the re-closing
cover of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 4B shows a longitudinal view of the embodiment of FIG.
4A.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0022] Turning now to FIG. 1, a beverage can 1 is shown. The can in
FIG. 1 could store beverage drinks such as soda pop, beer, soft
drinks, fruit juices, water, and the like or any other type of can.
In other embodiments, the can 1 could store non-beverage food
ingredients such as syrups, flour, powdered items, and other
similar food items or non-food ingredients such as lubricating
oils, fertilizers, insecticides, and the like. Any type of can with
any ingredients is within the scope of the present invention.
[0023] FIGS. 1-2 also show a perspective and top view of an
embodiment of the present invention. A tab 3 is held in place by a
central rivet or pin 6. A re-closing cover 4 fits around the rivet
6 and can be used to close the hole in the can top caused by
popping the tab 3. When the user pulls on the tab 3, pressure is
placed on a perforated area 5; the perforated area is broken, and
an opening 5 is created. After opening the can, the user may rotate
the tab 3 until the re-closing cover 4 completely covers opening
the 5. FIG. 3B illustrates a re-closed version of the can 1 by such
as process. The re-closing cover can be elliptical, circular or any
other shape.
[0024] FIGS. 3A and 3B provide a more detailed illustration of
closing opening 5 with the re-closing cover 4. It is shown in FIG.
3A that the re-closing cover 4 is attached to the tab 3 by a rivet
6, pin or any other attaching method or means. This connection
enables the user of the can 1 to control the re-closing cover 4 by
rotating the tab 3 with his finger toward the opening 5. The
alignment of the re-closing cover 4 with the opening 5 on the soda
can 1 can completely cover the opening and form a tight seal, as
illustrated in FIG. 3B.
[0025] FIGS. 4A and 4B show more detailed views of the re-closing
cover 4. The small hole on the re-closing cover 4 is where the
rivet 6 can connect the re-closing cover 4 to the tab 3. As shown
in FIG. 4B, the hole can span the entire area of the re-closing
cover 4. The re-closing cover could be composed of materials such
as rubber, plastics (polypropylenes or other polymers), metals
(aluminum, alloy, stainless steel, and the like), wood, ceramic,
composite, fiber, or other suitable materials in a heterogeneous or
homogenous composition. A preferred material is rubber, metal or
plastic. In a preferred embodiment, the re-closing cover member can
be elliptical to totally cover the access hole in the can. While an
elliptical cover member is preferred, any shape or size cover
member is within the scope of the present invention. For improved
sealing, the cover member may be optionally shaped concave
downward--that is slightly raised in its center.
[0026] Closing the opening 5 with the cover 4 can slow down or
prevent the oxidation of the ingredients in the can 1 and help
reduce or prevent a loss in any carbonation in the liquid content.
In addition, the closing of the opening 5 with the cover 4 can
prevent the entry of undesired objects into the can. Undesired
objects can include, but are not limited to, microbes such as
bacteria, fungi, and viruses; allergens such as dust, pollen and
aerosols; and insects such as bees, ticks, bugs and roaches. As a
result, closing of the opening 5 with cover 4 can help preserve the
quality of the ingredients in the can such as color, taste and
flavor. Other properties of the can contents that the re-closing
cover 4 could maintain include but are not limited to
anti-oxidative properties, turbidity, dielectric strength,
lubricating properties, viscosity, and other physical and chemical
properties.
[0027] Turning again to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the design of
the re-closing cover 4 in its shape and coverage of the entire area
of the opening 5--inherently forms a tight seal around the can's
opening. Such a design enables the re-closing cover 4 to meet the
objectives of the present invention without requiring complex
manufacturing such as adding rubber-like materials underneath the
cover, adding a clamp or making similar modifications. Such
modifications burden the manufacturer of the cover with additional
design, labor and material costs.
[0028] The re-closing cover 4 on the can 1, as illustrated in FIGS.
1 and 2, does not generally protrude outside the rim 2 of the can 1
in any direction. This can enable multiple cans with re-closing
covers to be stacked horizontally and vertically in an efficient
manner without creating indentations or spaces between them. Such
efficient stacking can be important to the objectives of the
present invention because it will not generally interfere with
shipping and packaging the cans.
[0029] Another important aspect of the re-closing cover 4 is that
it is normally non-removable. The non-removable nature of the cover
4 helps prevent it from getting lost before use or contaminated
with undesired objects. In addition, the non-removable nature of
the re-closing cover 4 eliminates the additional burden on the user
to store the cover in sanitary condition before use and eliminates
the additional step of clamping and aligning the cover onto a can.
Such advantages make the re-closing cover 4 easier and more
convenient to use.
[0030] It must be noted that the drawings and the above description
only illustrate a single embodiment of the present invention and
that other embodiments fall within the scope of this invention. For
instance, in an alternative embodiment, the re-closing cover 4 and
the tab 3 can be a single object as long as the object tightly
seals the opening of a can without requiring complex manufacturing.
In another embodiment, the re-closing cover 4 can be rotated by a
small handle on the cover instead of an attached tab, as long as
the handle does not protrude beyond the rims of the can in any
direction such that it interferes with stacking multiple cans.
Likewise, the re-closing cover 4 could further contain complex
manufacturing materials such as rubber-like insulations or clamps,
as long as such materials are not essential in meeting the
requirements of the present invention.
[0031] A method of implementing the present invention in
manufacture is to place the closing member 4 on the top of the
closed can 1 at the time of manufacture. The can may contain a
pre-punched pop-top outline (that can later be popped with a tab).
The central rivet 6 can be attached through both the pop-top tab 3
and the closing member 4 securely attaching both the closing member
4 and the tab 3 in position on the top of the can. Normally a hole
can be drilled or punched through the can top center to receive the
rivet 6 before the rivet is set. Thus, the hole can be first
drilled or punched; the closing member 4 can then be placed on the
can; the tab 3 can be placed on the closing member, and the rivet 6
can be inserted through aligned holes in the tab, closing member
and can top. The rivet 6 can then be set in place. In many
manufacturing operations, the can may also be filled through the
rivet hole before the rivet is inserted; however, any method of
filling the can is within the scope of the present invention.
[0032] Various descriptions and illustrations have been presented
to better aid in the understanding of the present invention. One
skilled in the art will realize that many changes and variations
are possible. These changes and variations are within the scope of
the present invention.
* * * * *