U.S. patent application number 12/158660 was filed with the patent office on 2009-12-17 for drinking fitment.
This patent application is currently assigned to BAPCO CLOSURES RESEARCH LTD.. Invention is credited to Peter Michael McGeough, Henning Von Spreckelsen.
Application Number | 20090308832 12/158660 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35840876 |
Filed Date | 2009-12-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090308832 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Von Spreckelsen; Henning ;
et al. |
December 17, 2009 |
DRINKING FITMENT
Abstract
A low-cost sportscap (2) has a nozzle (6) defining a drinking
orifice. The nozzle is assembled from below into an outer shell (4)
which is moulded as one piece and includes an overcap (16) and a
base (14). A foil annulus (8) is used to seal a coupling part (50)
of the nozzle to the outer shell (4) and also preferably to provide
a mechanism by means of which the closure can be assembled to a
container neck (10). A primary ex-factory seal is created by a
valve (42) inside the overcap engaging with the drinking orifice.
This can be resealed by the user when the overcap (16) is attached
to the base by hinge means (32).
Inventors: |
Von Spreckelsen; Henning;
(Woking, GB) ; McGeough; Peter Michael; (Woking,
GB) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CHRISTOPHER J. KULISH, P.C.
1531 Norwood Avenue
Boulder
CO
80304
US
|
Assignee: |
BAPCO CLOSURES RESEARCH
LTD.
WOKING
GB
|
Family ID: |
35840876 |
Appl. No.: |
12/158660 |
Filed: |
December 19, 2006 |
PCT Filed: |
December 19, 2006 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/GB2006/050464 |
371 Date: |
September 25, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/235 ;
215/316 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 2251/20 20130101;
B65D 2401/15 20200501; B65D 47/0804 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
215/235 ;
215/316 |
International
Class: |
B65D 41/00 20060101
B65D041/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 22, 2005 |
GB |
0526014.6 |
Claims
1. A closure for a container comprising: an outer shell defining a
base adapted to be fitted to a container neck and an overcap which
is connected to the base by a removable tamper elements; a separate
nozzle defining a drinking orifice assembled within the outer
shell; and an induction heat-sealing foil; characterised in that
the foil is an annulus welded to the base and nozzle; and the
overcap has a valve seal depending from an internal surface to
engage with and seal the drinking orifice.
2. A closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the foil provides
means by which the base can be welded to the container neck.
3. A closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the base comprises a
threaded skirt by means of which it can be connected to a standard
threaded bottle neck finish.
4. A closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the nozzle carries a
valve wall adapted to seat within a container neck.
5. A closure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: hinge means
connecting the overcap and base.
6. A closure is claimed in claim 4, wherein: the hinge means is
defined by a retained portion of the tamper band.
7. A closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the base and overcap
are made in one piece.
8. A closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the nozzle has a base
flange adapted to seat in a recess within the base of the outer
shell, and wherein the heat sealing foil covers a gap between the
base flange and the base.
9. A closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the nozzle has a base
flange which covers an inner edge of the foil.
10. A closure as claimed in claim 1, made from a plastics material
selected from Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP) including OPP,
or compostable plastics grown from crops such as PLA (polylactic
acid).
11. A closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the nozzle is made of
PET.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to drinking fitments or
drinking bottle closures of the type known as sports caps or sipper
caps that are designed to allow a consumer to drink "on the go"
from a container to which the cap is fitted.
[0002] Such closures have a base which fits to the neck of a
container. The base provides an outer shell to hold a nozzle or
mouthpiece that defines a drinking orifice. The mouthpiece is
shaped to be received within the consumer's mouth and drinking
takes place by a combination of sucking on the mouthpiece and
squeezing the bottle.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] There are a number of considerations which are significant
in the design of such closures. These include ex-factory sealing
and resealing of the container; the cost and weight of the closure
and container; the cost, complexity and efficiency of the mould
needed to make the closure; coverage of the mouthpiece when not in
use; tamper evidence; and littering issues and choking hazards
created by small removable parts.
[0004] Existing designs of such closures can be classified by the
number of parts in the moulding.
[0005] The commonest three-part designs have a base which is
screwed to the neck of the container and seals to it by means of
internal valve. The mouthpiece is a reciprocating nozzle (typically
white) that can be pulled upwards to unseal a drinking orifice.
Resealing is provided by pushing the nozzle back down. The nozzle
therefore acts as both a mouthpiece and pull-up drinking valve.
This push-pull design is typically provided with a tear-off overcap
or dust cover that is connected to the base by means of a frangible
region and provides a domelike cover over the nozzle. Once removed
this lightweight cover is discarded. Although this closure can be
resealed by the consumer, this leaves the mouthpiece exposed. There
are also considerable problems with such closures as consumers tend
to open the drinking valve by pulling on it with their teeth. This
also encourages consumers to chew the mouthpiece resulting in
damage. Because the base can be unscrewed from the cap, the
containers are often reused. Reuse of a damaged closure can result
in the risk of the nozzle becoming detached and creating a choking
hazard.
[0006] These closures can be fitted to standard bottlenecks. A
tamper evidence band surrounds the bottom of the base in the
conventional way. As the container cannot be refilled through the
mouthpiece this must be removed in order to allow the container to
be re-filled. Tamper evidence systems which lock the base to the
neck of the bottle therefore inhibit consumers from reusing the
container.
[0007] WO WO 03/051734 A (ALTO PLASTICS LIMITED). 2003-06-23.
describes a sportscap or sipper cap of this general type which has
an induction heat-sealed foil provided across a bottle neck to
provide the ex-factory seal instead of a depending valve seal
inside the base to seal against the interior of the bottleneck.
This reduces the complexity of base moulding but requires a
construction to pierce the seal. In this sipper cap the mouthpiece
is pushed down to pierce the seal opening the drinking valve.
[0008] This first type of closure is relatively heavy and because
of its complex design and construction is expensive to produce as
three separate mouldings are required and a two-stage assembly
step. This design also results in discarded/lost overcaps.
[0009] A second type of closure design comes in two parts and has
no drinking valve in the mouthpiece but provides a hinged cover
with a depending valve formed in its upper surface to engage within
an opening in the nozzle to provide sealing and resealing
capability. In order to allow the valve to clear the top of the
mouthpiece as the cover is closed, a large, flexible hinge is
provided. The cover is moulded as a separate component and an
assembly step is required. The design must also include a mechanism
to allow the parts to be joined so that they cannot be pulled
apart. These features make the moulds more expensive and less
efficient and increase the cost of the moulded parts. Such a design
has been adopted for use on HIGHLAND SPRING.RTM. 750 ml PET
sportscap bottles which have been distributed since March 2005.
[0010] The overcap is secured to the base by a frangible region
with a small portion which can be torn off in order to start the
tearing process. It is desirable that the small portion should
remain attached to the base to prevent littering.
[0011] As before, the base has an internal valve and is screwed
onto the bottleneck, thus prohibiting any weight savings in the
container or closure.
[0012] An example of this type of two-part closure in which the
cover is moulded in a closed position is shown in
US 2005116382 A (NUSBAUM PHILIPPE (FR); CELERIER YANNICK (FR); LE
CAM JEREMY (FR)). 2005-06-02.
[0013] or
WO WO 2004/007313 A (BERICAP). 2004-01-22.
[0014] In order to simplify the moulding process and allow the use
of a single mould, a third type of design with a hinged overcap is
moulded in an open position. See for EP 1364886 A (BERICAP).
2003-11-26.
[0015] An example of this type of design was used in 2005 on the
EVIAN.RTM. ACTION 750 ml PET container. The mould is relatively
complex and therefore expensive to produce. Since the closure is
moulded in the open position a mechanical robot arm is needed to
close the closures. This adds to the cycle time of the moulding
operation and makes it relatively inefficient. The closure is still
screwed to the bottleneck and sealed by a valve. Reliable tamper
evidence on the overcap closure is difficult with this type of
design. A tear-off strip is provided on the base of the EVIAN.RTM.
ACTION closure and interlocks with projections on an edge of the
overcap in such a way that it prevents opening of the cap without
its prior removal by the consumer. However the strip is not
physically connected to the overcap as in previous tamper evidence
designs. Although it would be difficult to re-engage the parts if
the closure were opened without first removing the strip, this
could be done with care. The tear-off strip also creates a
littering issue.
TECHNICAL PROBLEM
[0016] All of the existing designs leave unsolved the technical
problem of allowing weight reduction in the container neck.
Moreover a large proportion of the weight of the closure is in the
bulky base.
[0017] It would also be desirable to provide a design that uses a
mould that is economical to produce and can operate at high rates
while still offering consumers the security of reliable
tamper-evidence on the overcap combined with resealability.
TECHNICAL SOLUTION
[0018] The present invention accordingly provides a closure for a
container comprising an outer shell defining a base adapted to be
fitted to a container neck and an overcap which is connected to the
base by a removable tamper element; a separate nozzle defining a
drinking orifice assembled within the outer shell; and an induction
heat-sealing foil; characterised in that the foil is an annulus
welded to the base and nozzle; and the overcap has a valve seal
depending from an internal surface to engage with and seal the
drinking orifice.
[0019] The features of the preamble of this claim are described in
combination by Alto Plastics Limited above. The advantages of the
present invention are best realised by moulding the nozzle
separately while keeping the base and overcap in one piece.
[0020] Preferably the foil provides means by which the base can be
welded to the container neck, but if desired the base may have a
standard screw threaded skirt so that it can be used with a
conventional container having a PCO neck finish.
[0021] Preferably the nozzle carries a valve wall adapted to seat
within a container neck. This is particularly advantageous when the
sports cap is to be fitted to a container with pressurised
contents.
ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS
[0022] Alto failed to produce a low cost sports cap. By using two
simple parts that are easily assembled and held together by the
foil sealing step, the invention simultaneously offers solutions to
all the design considerations discussed in paragraph [0003] above.
By making the base and overcap in one piece, a reliable leak-free
seal is ensured without requiring an accurate mould.
[0023] Elimination of a screw-threaded base and internal valve seal
mean that the base of the closure of the invention is much easier
to mould and can be relatively light weight. Further weight savings
can be provided by eliminating the screw threaded neck of the
container.
[0024] The tamper band around the overcap is preferably only
partially removable to prevent littering. Since the overcap is
preferably retained by hinge means so that the drinking orifice can
be resealed, littering issues are minimised.
[0025] The sportscap of the invention can be moulded from
Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP) including OPP, or compostable
plastics grown from crops such as PLA (polylactic acid). It is also
possible to make the nozzle from PET. This is not currently
possible with the prior art designs where the nozzles are currently
moulded as part of a base. PET is too brittle to remove a base from
a mould without rotating the base out of the mould, which costs a
lot in capital and cycle time. These material suggestions are not
intended to preclude the use of other plastics not listed, or
another plastic such as nylon, or PVC or others for the nozzle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0026] In order that the invention may be well understood, some
embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example only,
with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in
which:
[0027] FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of the components of a first
embodiment of the closure;
[0028] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the closure of FIG. 1;
[0029] FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-section on the line A-A in FIG.
2;
[0030] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the closure after it has
been opened;
[0031] FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-section through an assembled
closure in accordance with a second embodiment of the
invention;
[0032] FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of the components of the
closure of FIG. 5;
[0033] FIG. 7 shows a vertical cross-section through an assembled
closure in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention;
and
[0034] FIG. 8 shows a vertical cross-section similar to FIG. 3 of a
fourth embodiment of the closure.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0035] The closure 2 is assembled from an outer shell 4, a
mouthpiece nozzle 6, and a foil annulus 8. The closure 2 is
assembled to an open neck 10 of a container 12.
[0036] The outer shell 4 is moulded as a single element. It is made
up of a base 14 that supports an upstanding cylindrical wall 15. An
overcap 16 is connected to the wall 15 by means of a removable
tamper element 18 placed within a weakened annular join 19 between
a top of the wall 15 and a lower edge of the overcap 16. The base
14 has a skirt 20 that is provided with a series of spaced internal
projections 22 that enable it to snap fit over an outwardly
projecting bead 24 at a rim of a container neck 10.
[0037] The skirt 20 depends from an annular base plate 26 which
covers an outer part of the opening of the neck 10 and has a
central circular opening 30 surrounded by the cylindrical wall 15.
A hinge formation 32 permanently connects the cylindrical wall 15
to the overcap 16. The hinge 32 is a strip which extends from
beneath the weakened join 19 and merges with a side wall of the
overcap 16. The length of the hinge is designed to permit easy
opening and closing of the overcap without interference with the
nozzle 6.
[0038] The tamper element 18 is a removable oval section with a
free tab 38. The removable element 18 is joined at a lower edge 36
to the cylindrical wall 15 and at an upper edge 34 to the overcap
16. These joints are provided by means of a frangible region. The
tab 38 projects slightly proud of the tamper element to allow the
user to pull the tab forward and initiate a tear along the
frangible regions. The tab 38 and a released portion of the tamper
element 18 can be retained with the base by limiting the extent of
the frangible region at edge 34 or 36. Since the shell 4,
comprising base 14, wall 15 and overcap 16, is moulded as one piece
with the tamper element 18, it is not essential to have great
accuracy of moulding as all parts are already connected through a
plastics membrane so that there is no possibility of leakage. If
the parts have to be fitted together in a leak-free manner, they
would need to be moulded with much greater accuracy.
[0039] A depending, cylindrical valve seal 42 projects from an
internal surface 44 of the overcap 16.
[0040] The outer shell can be injection moulded from plastics such
as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene(PP) including OPP (Oriented
polypropylene--a working-copy PP variant which is clear like PET
but a lot cheaper), or compostable plastics grown from crops such
as PLA (polylactic acid). If a sports cap which provides a gas
barrier is required, then the outer shell can be made of a barrier
material.
[0041] The nozzle 6 is a separate moulding having a coupling part
50 to engage with the outer shell 4 and a mouthpiece part that
defines a drinking orifice 52. The nozzle is hollow. The outer
shape of the mouthpiece can be shaped to make it comfortable to
engage with the mouth as with prior art mouthpieces. The drinking
orifice 52 is shaped to correspond with the valve seal 42 and
provide both a primary ex-factory seal and a resealing capability
for the closure.
[0042] The coupling part 50 is a projecting annular flange 54 that
extends from a lower edge of the external wall of the nozzle 6. The
flange 54 seats against the base plate 26 with the wall of the
nozzle fitting snugly within the cylindrical wall 15. A valve wall
(not shown) adapted to seat within a container neck may depend from
the outer edge of flange 54. This variation is illustrated in FIG.
7.
[0043] The nozzle 6 is preferably made of any of the plastics
suggested for the outer shell or PET as the moulding is a simple
shape and can easily be removed from the mould despite its
brittleness. The nozzle may have a layer of ethylene vinyl alcohol
(EVOH) embedded within it. EVOH provides a good gas barrier.
However, the nozzle 6 does not need to be made from a barrier
material in order to produce a barrier sports cap. It is only
essential to have the outer shell 4, that is the base 14, wall 15
and cover 16 made from a barrier material.
[0044] An annulus of foil 8 completes the closure 2. The foil
annulus is stamped out from a thin sheet of aluminium foil coated
on each surface with a plastics coating that is compatible with the
plastics of the components to which it is to be welded by induction
heat sealing. This is described in the art as double sided
induction heat sealing (IHS) foil.
[0045] The foil annulus 8 has a circular edge 58 sized to fit
within the base plate 26 and possibly also extend partially down an
inside of the skirt 20 of the base 14 if it is desired to weld the
foil to a side wall of the container as described WO WO 03/062061 A
(SPRECKELSEN MCGEOUGH LTD). 2003-07-31.
[0046] An opening 60 is stamped out of a circular disc of foil at a
position to correspond to the position of the circular opening 30
of the base plate 26.
Assembly
[0047] In order to assemble the closure from the moulded outer
shell 4 and nozzle as described above, the foil annulus 8 is
stamped from a foil sheet and dropped into the base 14 of the
inverted outer shell 4. The nozzle 6 is then inserted or dropped
through the opening 30 in the base plate 26 of the base 14 of the
outer shell 4 until the valve 42 engages with and grips the
drinking orifice 52. The foil annulus 8 is then trapped between the
flange 50 and the base plate 26 with an outer part of the annulus
exposed between an outer edge of the flange 50 and a wall of the
skirt 20. The closure is then subjected to induction heating to
seal the foil 8 to the base plate 26 and weld the outer shell and
nozzle together where the flange 50 overlies the base plate 26. The
flange 50 may be thin and designed to be sacrificial and melted
over the edge 60 of the foil or, if thicker, must terminate
sufficiently short of the skirt 20 in order to enable a neck of the
container to be placed in contact with the foil 8 in order to be
welded to it. This design eliminates the need to bend a sacrificial
wall over the inner edge 60 of the foil as in the second
embodiment.
[0048] The assembled closure can then be welded to the neck of a
bottle by a separate induction heat sealing operation.
[0049] While the use of the annulus of foil 8 to seal the nozzle 6
into the base 14 has been described, it will be appreciated that
the components could be designed so that the nozzle would snap fit
into the base. The foil 8 would then be necessary only for sealing
the base to a bottle or other container.
[0050] The closure 2, as assembled, is completely sealed and can be
supplied to a bottling factory and sterilised prior to assembly to
a container. It will be appreciated that the presence of the foil 8
means that the container does not need the normal threaded neck
formation as the closure is preferably sealed to the container by a
second welding operation. Nevertheless, this closure can be fitted
to an unmodified container with an appropriately designed skirt 20.
See FIG. 8.
[0051] Where the container is intended for pressurised fluids, it
may be necessary to provide foil on the skirt 20 in order to weld
to a wall of a PET bottle. For PET bottles intended for still
water, the weld strength provided by a weld to the bead 24 at the
rim of the container may be sufficient.
SECOND EMBODIMENT
[0052] A second embodiment of the closure is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6
(wherein like reference numerals are used for like parts). This
design is the same as the first embodiment except for the coupling
part 50 at the base of the nozzle 6, the base of the outer shell 4
and the method of assembly.
[0053] In this embodiment the overcap 16 is connected to the base
14 by means of a tamper band 18. The base 14 has a skirt 20 that
terminates in a lip 22 adapted to snap fit over an outwardly
projecting bead 24 at a rim of a container neck 10.
[0054] The skirt 20 depends from an annular base plate 26 which
covers an outer part of the opening of the neck 10. In this
embodiment, the plate 26 is stepped to define an internal recess
28. Although an annular base plate of uniform width is illustrated
in FIG. 5, it will be appreciated that a circular opening 30 in the
base plate that receives the nozzle 6 may be offset to one side so
that it is easier for the consumer to reach.
[0055] A hinge formation 32 permanently connects the base 14 to the
overcap 16. The hinge 32 is a strip which extends from beneath the
tamper band 18 and merges with a side wall of the overcap 16. The
length of the hinge is designed to permit easy opening and closing
of the overcap without interference with the nozzle 6. Offsetting
the nozzle away from the hinge 32 also reduces the length of hinge
strip required.
[0056] The tamper band 18 is connected at each edge 34, 36 to a
lower edge of the overcap 16 and the base plate 26 respectively.
This connection is provided by means of a frangible region along at
least a portion of the edge 34 and at least a portion of the length
of the lower edge 36. A tab 38 projects from the tamper band to
allow the user to grip the band 18 and initiate a tear along the
frangible regions. The tab 38 and a released portion of the tamper
band 18 can be retained with the base by limiting the extent of the
frangible region at edge 36. This type of retained tamper band is
employed in the HIGHLAND SPRING.RTM. 750 ml PET sportscap bottles
discussed above. However, in that case the base and overcap are
moulded as separate parts rather than as an integral outer shell 4
as taught here. When the shell 4, comprising base 14 and overcap
16, is moulded as one piece with the tamper element 18 a much
reduced accuracy of moulding is required as all parts are already
connected through a plastics membrane so that there is no
possibility of leakage. If the parts have to be fitted together in
a leak-free manner as required by this prior art, they must be
moulded with much greater accuracy.
[0057] A peak 40 is provided on the overcap 16 to facilitate
reclosure.
[0058] The nozzle 6 is as described in the previous embodiment
except that the coupling part 50 is a projecting annular flange 54
that extends from an external wall of the nozzle 6 just above its
lower edge in order to leave a short sacrificial wall 56 below the
flange 54. The flange 54 seats in the recess 28 in the base plate
26 with the wall of the nozzle fitting snugly within the opening
30.
[0059] An annulus of foil 8 completes the closure 2 as before. It
will be appreciated that if the nozzle is to be offset the foil
annulus will not be of uniform width around its circumference.
Assembly of the Second Embodiment
[0060] In order to assemble the closure from the moulded outer
shell 4 and nozzle as described above, the nozzle 6 is inserted
from below through the opening 30 in the base plate 26 of the base
14 of the outer shell 4 until the valve 42 engages with and grips
the drinking orifice 52. The foil annulus 8 is stamped from a foil
sheet and dropped into the recess defined between the sacrificial
wall 56 and skirt 20 thus covering the gap between an edge of
flange 54 and the outer shell that would otherwise be difficult to
sterilise. The foil 8 is then welded to the closure. The tool that
places the foil in the recess also folds sacrificial wall 56 over
the edge 60 of the foil opening where the aluminium would otherwise
be exposed. When the foil is heated, the plastic of this
sacrificial wall 56 melts over the exposed aluminium edge to embed
it as described in
WO WO 2005/092728 A (SPRECKELSEN MCGEOUGH LTD). 2005-10-06.
[0061] As with the first embodiment, the closure can be sealed to a
container in a separate induction heat sealing operation utilising
the exposed portion of the foil 8.
THIRD EMBODIMENT
[0062] A third embodiment of the closure is shown in FIG. 7
(wherein like reference numerals are used for like parts). This
design is similar to the first embodiment except that the nozzle 6
is not centred within the base 14 but offset and a new sealing
valve structure is shown on the coupling part 50. An alternative
nozzle profile is shown and the overcap has a second outer valve
seal 82 concentric with valve seal 42 to engage with an outer
surface of the nozzle 6. This embodiment is assembled in the same
way as the first embodiment.
[0063] The coupling part 50 terminates in a depending valve wall 80
that is designed to push fit into the open neck 10 of the container
12. This is particularly advantageous when the closure is being
used on a container containing pressurised contents such as
carbonated drinks. In this situation, the pressure will act to
force the valve wall 80 against the neck holding the closure in
position.
[0064] In order to enable the outer shell 4 to be moulded in one
piece the opening 30 in the base 14 cannot have a smaller diameter
than the inner diameter of the cover 16. It will be appreciated
that if the advantages of this simple one piece moulding are
foregone, then the outer shell could be moulded in the same way as
the EVIAN.RTM. ACTION closure described at paragraph [0013]
above.
FOURTH EMBODIMENT
[0065] The closure of FIG. 8 differs from the first embodiment only
in that it is designed to fit in a conventional manner on a
standard pre-form PCO neck finish in any of the popular sizes such
as 28 mm, 30 mm, 33 mm, 35 mm, 38 mm and 43 mm or 45 mm. The skirt
20 is provided with an internal screw thread 70 to co-operate with
the external threads on the standard neck. The lower edge of the
skirt 20 may be connected to a tamper evident strip 72 by breakable
bridges 74. This embodiment of the closure can be used without the
need for any modification of existing bottles.
Variations
[0066] Although a separate hinge 32 has been described, it will be
possible to create a hinge by retaining part of the tamper band 18
as a permanent connection between the overcap and base.
[0067] The tamper element 18 could also be omitted and the lower
edge of the overcap 16 joined to the base by a frangible region.
The peak 40 would then need to be sufficiently substantial to
enable the user to use it to initiate the tearing off of the
overcap 16 leaving just a portion of its edge connected to the base
to serve as hinge means.
[0068] If the closure is to be used on a bottle with an integral
gas barrier, it may be desirable to include a foil seal within the
area of the valve 42. This can be done by the techniques
described
GB 2412368 A (SPRECKELSEN MCGEOUGH LTD). 2005-09-28. 2005.
* * * * *